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OUT-DOOR 

SPORTS FOR BOYS 



(AND GIRLS) 



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Edited by lynds Ef jones 



COPIO USL V ILL USTRA TED 



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GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS, Limited 

New York : 9 Lafayette Place 

London, Glasgow and Manchester 



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IN UNIFORM STYLE. 



History of the United States. 

History of England. 

Great African Travellers. 

Out-Door Sports for Boys {and 
Girls). 

In-Door Games for Girls {and 
Boys). 

Each 160 pages, quarto. With numerous 
illustrations. Boards, lithographed double 
cover, each, 75 cents. 



GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, Limited. 

New York : 9 Lafayette Place , 
London, Glasgow and Manchester. 



Copyrighted, 1890, by Joseph L. Blamirk. 



PREFACE. 



It is, perhaps, needless to say that no attempt has been made in this volume to 
include every form of out-door recreation with which boys and girls amuse themselves 
during vacation or in play-time. Only such games as have proved their popularity, and 
only such sports as seem especially adapted to the taste of young Americans, have here been 
described. To have attempted more than this — to have endeavored to make it a complete 
manual of open-air pastimes — would have resulted in a volume so bulky and unwieldy as 
to have destroyed its real usefulness and defeated the main purpose of its preparation. 
No amusement, however, of assured merit, or which would be naturally looked for in such 
a book has, it is believed, been omitted, and a few games have been included which are 
but little known in this country, though they are favorites in other parts of the world. 

In making the selection the wants of every age have been considered, and the young- 
est child as well as the oldest has been regarded. Different dispositions and temperaments 
have also been provided for, and the weaker ones will find that they have not been passed 
by in favor of those who are stronger. The aim has been to afford healthy out-door 
recreation for all, whatever may be their sex, age, or robustness. 

As it is not to be supposed that any one person could understand all games equally well, 

different authorities have been consulted and freely quoted in the various descriptions here 

given. This especially applies to sports of foreign origin. By this means greater exactness 

has been obtained, so that the rules and conditions of play here laid down can in every case 

be implicitly and absolutely relied upon. 

LYNDS E. JONES. 
Brooklyn, N. Y., 1890. 



CONTENTS. 




PAGE 

Base-Ball i 

Cricket 7 

Foot-Ball 16 

Lacrosse 24 

Lawn Tennis 28 

Croquet 35 

Golf 38 

Curling 43 

Polo 45 

Archery 47 

Fencing 49 

Skating 53 

Roller-Skating 56 

Ice-Boating 57 

Skating-Wings 58 

Tobogganing 60 

Snow-Shoeing 62 

Horseback-Riding 64 

Driving 68 

Bicycling 71 

Swimming 76 

Rowing 80 

Sailing 86 

Canoeing 89 

Miniature Yachting 92 

Fishing 93 

Bowling 97 

Rackets 99 

Bowls loi 

Athletics 102 

Training 102 

AValking 104 



PACK 

Athletics. — Continued. 

Running , 105 

Jumping 106 

Leaping 108 

Climbing a Board 109 

Climbing the Pole 109 

Climbing the Rope no 

Climbing Trees no 

The Giant Stride no 

The Trapeze 112 

Hare and Hounds, or Paper Chase .. 115 

Playground Games 118 

Skittles 118 

Knur and Spell 118 

Fungo 119 

Hand-Ball 119 

Cap-Ball 120 

Hockey (or Shinney) 120 

Hole-Ball 121 

Two Old Cat 121 

Trap Ball 121 

Balloon Ball (Pallone) 122 

Dog-Stick and Splent 122 

The Cross-Bow 123. 

Quoits 123 

Lawn Billiards 124 

Ring-Toss 125 

The Boomerang 125 

Throwing the Javelin 125 

Les Graces 126 

Battledore and Shuttlecock 127 

The Sling 127 



IV 



CONTENTS. 



Playground Games. — Continued. 

The Cleft-Stick 127 

The Pea-Shooter and Putty-Blower . . 128 

The Catapult 128 

Prisoner's Base 129 

Tip-Cat 129 

Leap-Frog 130 

Pollow My Leader 130 

Hop Scotch 130 

Duck and Drake 132 

Tag 132 

I Spy the Wolf 133 

Hide and Seek, or Whoop 133 

Jingle-Ring 133 

Bound Hands 133 



Playground Games. — Continued. 

Bull in the Ring 134 

Sling the Monkey 134 

Baste the Bear 134 

Dropping the Handkerchief 134 

Drawing the Oven 135 

Fly the Garter 135 

Spanish Fly 135 

Cock-Fighting 136 

Jump, Little Nag- Tail 136 

Winding the Clock 136 

Kites 137 

Marbles 138 

Tops 141 

Hoops 143 




OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS 



BASE-BALL. 




There is probably no game 
played throughout the world 
which affords as much pleas- 
ure to so great a number of 
people as the game of base- 
ball. It is the national game 
of America and there is 
scarcely a city, town or vil- 
lage in the United States in 
which cannot be found at 
least one club. Though 
heretofore less known abroad 
it has of late steadily been growing more popular 
in other countries, and when American teams now 
visit foreign lands their games are witnessed by con- 
stantly increasing crowds of visitors. Boys and 
men both play it and are equally absorbed in 
watching finely contested matches. This interest 
is not confined to the young, but is shared as well 
by older persons, who are often found among the 
most enthusiastic spectators of the sport. Nor are 
ladies absent from the field when pennants are to 
be striven for or championships decided, though 
naturally, as it is a game in which they take no 
part themselves, they ordinarily form but a minority 
of the on-lookers. 

One reason for its great popularity is the quick- 
ness with which it is usually played, thus prevent- 
ing weariness in either actors or audience. An- 
other reason for the favor in which it is held is the 
ease with which its general principles are mastered, 
thus enabling even the inexperienced with but little 
coaching to intelligently follow the progress of a 
game. Then the players for the most part are so 
scattered over the field that the spectators can 
readily see what each one is doing, and thus appre- 
ciate every point that is made. Above all, it fur- 



nishes so many opportunities for spirited and brill- 
iant play that in a well-matched game the excite- 
ment does not flag for an instant, but is maintained 
at fever-heat from start to finish. 

While a great deal of money can be spent (and is 
spent by professional and some amateur clubs) in 
preparing elaborate grounds, in purchasing costly 
equipments and on the salaries and travelling ex- 
penses of players, plenty of amusement can be had 
from it at a very trifling outlay. The only absolute 
essentials for the game are a bat, a ball and the use 
of as level a tract of ground as can be obtained. 
The larger this tract is (within reason) the better. 
On it should be marked off (with chalk, lime or in 
any other convenient manner) a square, the length 
of each side being just ninety feet. At each corner 
of this square there should be securely fastened a 
flat stone, metal plate or canvas bag, prominent 
enough to be easily seen from any part of the " dia- 
mond" (the popular name of the square). These 
four stones, plates or bags are called respectively 
the first, second, third and home bases, the regula- 
tion size of each of the first three being fifteen inches 
square and that of the home base a square foot. 
(It is not necessary that the bases should be these 
exact dimensions excepting for professional clubs 
or when amateurs prefer to play a very strict 
game.) 

Eighteen players are needed for a game, and they 
are divided into two sides of nine each. When two 
clubs are playing against each other the nine on 
either side are of course all members of the same 
club. One of each side is appointed captain, and 
he directs the playing of his men, decides in what 
order they shall go to the bat and (unless their 
positions have previously been determined upon, as 
is generally the case in clubs) the place each shall 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



occupy in the field. Besides these eighteen players 
there is ordinarily an umpire to settle all disputes 
and doubtful points that arise during the game, and 
two scorers (one for each side) whose duty it is to 
keep the record. Before a game commences the 
two captains arrange, by tossing a coin (or in any 
other chance way), which side shall first go to the 
bat and which to the field. When three batsmen 
have successively been put out (in the manner to be 
described further on) their side changes places with 
those in the field, the latter taking their turn at the 
bat, or their " innings " as it is termed. This rota- 
tion continues until each side has had nine innings 
(or had three of its men put out nine times), which 
ends the game. 

The game begins by one of the batting side tak- 
ing his bat and placing himself a little to the left 
(or to the right if he is left-handed) of the home 
base and facing the centre of the square. The 
captain decides which player this shall be. The 
others on his side have for the present nothing to 
do but to await their turn at batting, though cus- 
tomarily the captain and perhaps one other stand 
near at hand to advise or coach the batsman. The 
fielding side arrange themselves as follows : one 
(the catcher) stands just behind the batsman ; an- 
other (the pitcher) about fifty feet in front of the 
batsman and of course in the square ; a third (the 
first baseman) near the first base, but outside the 
square and with the base between himself and the 



batsman ; a fourth (the third baseman) takes a 
similar position behind the third base ; a fifth (the 
second baseman) stands near the second base and 
usually to the left of it as he faces the batsman (and 
outside the square) ; a sixth (the short stop) stands 
between the second and third bases (but a little 
nearer to the former than to the latter), just outside 
the square ; the seventh (the right-fielder) at some 
little distance back (and to the left) of the second 
baseman ; the eighth (the centre-fielder) directly 
back of (but at a considerable distance from) the 
second base ; and the ninth (the left-fielder) behind 
(and to the right of) the short stop. These places 
are not fixed ones, but are simply given as the 
best (and usual) ones for the men to occupy. The 
players can all move freely about as they judge 
advisable during the game. The pitcher, however, 
must always be at the specified distance from the 
batsman when throwing the ball to be batted. A 
glance at the accompanying diagram of a base-ball 
field will make this description of the positions 
much clearer. It will also serve to show that the 
first base is the one to the right of the batsman 
as he stands at the home base facing the pitcher 
and the third base the one to his left. The second 
base is of course directly (and diagonally) opposite 
to the home base. In popular language the pitcher 
and catcher are known as " the battery ; " the three 
basemen with the short stop as " the infield ; " and 
the right, left and centre fielders as "the outfield." 



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BASE-BALL. 



Every one having taken his place, the game is 
actually opened by the pitcher throwing the ball to 
the catcher. In doing this he must throw it di- 
rectly over the plate, or whatever is used to mark 
the home base, and at the height asked for by the 
batsman. As the ball passes over the plate the 
batsman (if he thinks he can hit it) strikes at it 
with his bat, and, if he succeeds in hitting it and 
the hit is a " fair ' one (i.e., not a " foul," defined 
further on), he drops his bat and runs to the first 
base, another batsman from the same side succeed- 
ing him at the bat. If the one who hit the ball 
reaches the first base without being put out he then 



strike at. When a batsman has struck at the ball 
three times without hitting it he is obliged to run 
for the first base just as he would have done if he 
had hit it, but he is usually put out before reaching 
the base. Moreover if he makes no attempt to hit 
the ball when it comes fairly over the plate and at 
the height he requested a " strike " is called on him 
by the umpire the same as if he had tried to hit it 
and had failed, and on the third of such " strikes " 
he must run for the base. (The three " strikes " 
may consist of two unsuccessful attempts to hit 
and one failure to try, or vice versa ; or they may 
all consist of failures to try or all of unsuccessful 




HOW TO PLAY THE POSITIONS. 



runs (as opportunities offer) to the second base and 
from there to the third base, and thence home {i.e., 
to the home base), which scores one " run " for his 
side ; and the side on which the greater number of 
" runs" is made during the nine innings wins the 
game. While the first batsman is running from 
base to base, or is waiting on any of them for 
chances to run, the second batsman is attempting 
to hit the ball thrown by the pitcher to the catcher 
in the same way the first one did. Should any bats- 
man, on his first strike, fail to hit the ball the 
catcher returns the ball to the pitcher, who again 
throws it over the plate for the batsman to again 



attempts.) On the other hand, when the pitcher 
does not send the ball over the plate at the height 
asked for, a " ball " is called on him by the umpire, 
and when four such " balls " have been called the 
batsman is allowed to go to the first base without be- 
ing out, and if there is a player already on that base 
the latter is similarly advanced to the second base. 
(This is done because base-ball rules do not allow 
two men to be on one base at the same time. 
Consequently if all three-bases are filled when the 
fourth " ball " is called, each man moves forward 
one base without being liable to be put out, the 
one who had been on the third base thus reach- 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



ing home and scoring a run. If the second base 
is vacant, however, a man on the third base can 
only advance at the risk 
of being put out, and if 
the first base is vacant 
the men on both second 
and third bases run a 
similar risk in moving.) 
In hitting the ball the 
batsman is permitted to 
strike it so as to send it 
in any direction va front 
of him, but he must not 
send it behind him or 
too much to either side. 
If the ball on being hit 
falls outside of the lines 
connecting the home 
base with the fitst and 
third bases (and the ex- 
tensions of those lines), 
it is called a " foul " hit 
or a " foul " ball and no 
runs or bases can be 
made from it by either 
the batsman or men on 
bases. With this excep- 
tion the batsman is al- 
lowed to send the ball 
wherever he chooses and 
as far as his strength of 
arm will permit. Frequently a heavy batter will 
drive the ball so swift and far that before any of 
the outfield can get it and send it back to infield or 
battery the batsman will have made the complete 
circuit of the bases and so have scored a " home 
run" — one of the most coveted distinctions of the 
game. Two-base hits and three-base hits {i.e., hits 
on which the batsman can reach second or third 
base before the ball gets back into play) are also 
considered highly creditable to a player. A good 
batter will often do his side the greatest service and 
materially aid it in winning the game by judiciously 
sending the ball to the part of the field furthest re- 
moved from bases occupied by his fellow-players, 
thus enabling them to advance themselves and per- 
haps to get home and so score. If, to do this, he 
sacrifices his own chances of making bases or a run 
the hit is called a "sacrifice hit," and good ball- 
playing consists as much as in anything else of a 
willingness on the part of individuals thus to sub- 
ordinate themselves and to help their associates for 
the common good. 




PITCHER. 



But a man may be a good batter and yet, even if 
he does not make sacrifice-hits, not score many 
»runs, as there are various ways in which he can be 
put out. In the first place if the ball is caught, be- 
fore it touches the ground, either after it has been 
hit by the batsman or on his third " strike "(whether 
the " strikes " are unsuccessful attempts to hit or 
failures to try), he is out. (This applies to all hits, 
foul as well as fair. In some associations he is also 
out on a foul hit if the ball is caught on \\.^ first re- 
bound from the ground.) The batsman is also out 
if the first baseman gets the ball before the former 
reaches that base after his hit or third " strike." 
This constantly happens even to good batters when 
the opposing sides have expert fielders, for a ball 
can be thrown with much greater speed than any 
man can run, and if it can be picked up quickly 
enough on! touching the ground after being hit it 
can often be gotten to first base ahead of the runner. 

The troubles of a batsman are by no means over 
even if he reaches the first base in safety. He is 
now called a " base-runner," 
because he has to run succes- 
sively to the second, third 
and home bases before he 
can score for his side. He 
has to do this, of course, with- 
out being put out on his way, 
and it is his object to do it 
as quickly as possible both in 
order to have the bases free 
for other players who may 
follow him and also so as to 
get home before three of his 
fellow-batsmen are put out, 
for, if he is left on a base 
(even if it be the third base) 
when this happens, the hit 
and bases he has already 
made off it count for nothing. 
These considerations prompt 
him to steal a base whenever . 
he thinks he has a fair chance ' 
of gaining it. If, in attempt- 
ing to do this, he is touched 
by the ball held in the hand 
of an opponent where no part 
of his (the base-runner's) 
body is on a base, he is out. 
Good base-running is nearly 

(if not quite) as desirable a qualification in a ball- 
player as heavy batting, and it decides many a 
close contest. The situation not infrequently oc- 




BATSMAN. 



BASE-BALL. 



curs when three bases are filled at a time that two 
men are already out. In such a case the man on 
the third base must take every risk to get home at 
the earliest possible moment, so as to free his base 
for the others (who cannot advance until he gets 
out of their way), and also so as to score before his 
opponents have a chance to put out the player at 
the bat. When running bases the player must touch 
each base in regular succession, and he is not al- 
lowed, when trying to avoid an opponent who is 
endeavoring to touch him out with the ball, to 
diverge more than three feet from the line connect- 
ing the bases. It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to 
add that an opponent must not needlessly obstruct 
the path of a base-runner : the only circumstances 
under which he has the right to remain in the way 
are while attempting to touch the runner out or 
when trying to catch the ball. 

So much for batting and base-running. Now as 
to field-work. 

Of course the two great requisites in base-ball — 
the two things wh'ch noth- 
ing else can take the place 
of — are skill in catching and 
skill in throwing the ball. A 
man who can get hold and 
keep hold of every ball which 
comes anywhere within his 
reach, whether by a running 
catch or a leaping one, by 
hurling himself recklessly 
forward on his face or with 
no less indifference over on 
his back — who can do this 
whether the ball comes whist- 
ling through the air three 
feet above his head or spin- 
ning near the earth scarcely 
as many inches above the 
ground, and who is equally 
ready to take the ball wheth- 
it is swift or slow, straight or 
curved — such a man will be- 
come a great player. If, be- 
sides this, he can throw a 
ball with unerring aim and 
with a lightning velocity to 
just the spot where it is 
wanted and at just the mo- 
ment it is needed, he may 
become a very great player. And if, in addition to 
these qualifications, he has the coolness and the 





CATCHER. 



BATSMAN. 



judgment to know always what is the best play to 
make, he will become an almost invaluable player. 

Every one in the field 
should be able to catch 
well. Every one should 
also be able to throw 
well. But the highest 
skill in throwing is ex- 
pected of the pitcher, 
for it is on account of 
his exceptional ability 
in that respect that he is 
given the position. He 
must have such complete 
control over the ball that 
he can send it exactly 
over the plate at the 
precise distance above 
the ground that each 
batsman successively 
calls for. He should be 
able to constantly vary 
his method of throwing 
from swift to slow, from 
straight to curve, and 
from one style of curve 

to another style as will most effectually puzzle his 
opponents. At the same time he must ever be on 
the alert to prevent base-runners from stealing bases, 
by promptly sending the ball, at the first indication 
oi such an attempt on their part, to the nearest in- 
llelders that the runners may be touched out. If 
the ball is hit by the batsman he must always be 
prepared to catch the man out if the ball comes at 
all near him or to receive it from the most dis- 
tant outfielder and at once pass it to basemen or 
, catcher to prevent runs or bases being made from 
the hit. When an inning is once fairly under way 
the pitcher cannot for an instant afford to relax his 
utmost attention to every part of the diamond. 
Upon him rest the greatest strain and the chiefest 
responsibility, and to him as well go the largest 
credit and the highest reward. 

Next, in popular estimation at least, to the 
position of pitcher ranks in importance that of the 
catcher. He has perhaps a greater number of op- 
portunities than any other player to put men out 
both by catching the ball on third strikes and fouls 
and when base-runners are attempting to get home 
from the third base, as he is the only player on the 
fielding side at the home base. He can also often 
greatly assist the first baseman in putting men out 
by getting the ball to that base ahead of the bats- 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



man. Naturally he should catch remarkably well so 
as to hold all the balls from the pitcher, however 
" hot " (swift) or curved they may be, as well as 
those sent him by fielders to check home running. 

The particular qualifications of the other players 
hardly need a very extended description. The 
special task of the infield is to stop base-running ; 
that of the outfield to get balls which have been 
batted to distant parts of the field back to the 
battery and infield in the briefest possible time. It 
follows from this that the outfield should be partic- 
ularly expert in throwing speedy and sure balls and 
the infield in catching them. All, however, should 
be equally quick on the feet and equally ready to 
■catch a batted ball on the " fly " when the chance 
comes to them. While positions on the battery are 
usually considered the most enviable ones, a player 
can make as desirable a reputation as second base- 
man, short stop or in other fielding work as the most 
noted pitcher or catcher. 

Good all-round work and even playing are the 
qualities most to be striven for in base-ball. A fair 
batter who is also a fair fielder can do more for his 
team than a heavy batter who is weak in his fielding, 
and while sometimes a man who is a very superior 
pitcher or catcher will be retained in pennant or 
championship games even if he is not effective at 
the bat, he is at any time liable to be replaced by 
one who is his inferior in pitching or catching but 
who excels him in batting. Aspirants for distinc- 
tion in base-ball, therefore, should aim to improve 
and perfect themselves in every branch of the 
game. 



m 



One or two points in conclusion. The order 
which the men on each side are first sent to the bat 
must be maintained throughout the game. This is 
done irrespective of innings. For example, if in the 
first innings only five men have been to the bat 
when the side is put out, then in the second innings 
the other four take their turn before the first five 
bat again. After these four have batted it is again 
the turn of the man who first batted at the beginning 
of the game. This order of batting is decided by 
the captain, who has absolute authority over his 
men during the game, subject only to the decisions 
of the umpire. In clubs the captaincy is usually a 
permanent oosition, but among amateurs (not for- 
mally associated as a club) he is elected by his 
fellow-players for each game. He is not necessarily 
the best player on his side, though ordinarily he is 
one of the best. He should be one of the most ex- 
perienced and one possessing the coolest judgment 
— a good general and an able manager. He should 
occupy whatever position in the field he is best 
fitted for, it by no means following that because he 
is captain he should also be pitcher or catcher. 

The bat to be used must be round in shape and 
made entirely of wood. It should not exceed three 
and a half feet in length nor two and a half inches 
in diameter at the thickest part. (These are the 
regulation dimensions.) The proper ball is one 
made of woolen yarn, covered with leather, and 
with a small piece of rubber (not weighing over an 
ounce) in the centre. In circumference it may be 
from nine to nine and a quarter inches and in weight 
between five and five and a quarter ounces. 




CURVING THE BALL. 



CRICKET. 



CRICKET. 











Loyal Britons hold cricket 
to be as much superior to all 
other out-door sports as pa- 
triotic Americans regard base- 
ball. Each is the favorite 
game of its own nation, but 
each also has many admirers 
in the country of the other, 
and matches between good 
cricket teams in America now- 
adays attract spectators who 
are scarcely less enthusiastic 
than the crowds which gather 
to witness League or Associa- 
tion contests. 
The essential materials for cricket are as simple 
. as those for our own national game. A ball, two 
bats, two " wickets " and the use of a level piece of 
ground fill all the requirements ; though in matches 
gloves for the " wicket-keeper " and pads and gloves 
for the " bowler " are desirable. The ball is about 
the same size as a base-ball, weighing between five 
and a half and five and three quarters ounces with 
a circumference from nine to nine and a quarter 
inches. But the bat is quite different from that 
used in base-ball. Instead of being round it is rather 
flat-shaped excepting at the handle. Its total length 
must not exceed thirty-eight inches, of which the 
blade (striking part) is usually twenty-five and the 




GLOVES AND PAD, 



handle thirteen inches. The width of the 
blade cannot be more than four and a half 
inches, and in thickness it (the blade) should 
be about one inch at the edges and an inch 
and a quarter in the centre. The back of the 
blade is slightly rounded. 

Each of the wickets consists of three round 
pieces of wood driven a few inches into 
the ground and projecting twenty-seven 
inches above it. They are placed in a 
straight line, the distance between the 
outer edges of the two extreme ones be- 
ing just eight inches. By this arrange- 
ment the space between the middle and 
each of the other " stumps " (as these 
three uprights are called) is a little less 
than the diameter of the ball, which is 
thus prevented from passing between 
them. Across the tops of the stumps 
are laid two " bails " (pieces of wood 
four inches long), one end of each bail 
resting on the middle stump and the 
other end on one of the outer stumps. 
The bails are not in any way fastened 
to the stumps, but simply lie lightly up- 
on them (usually in notches or grooves 
cut on the tops of the stumps), in order 
that they may be easily knocked off 
when stump or bail is hit by the ball ; 
for one of the great objects in cricket 
is to get a " wicket down " by knocking 
off one of the bails. The second wicket 
is placed opposite (and parallel) to the 
first one and at a distance from it of 
twenty-two yards. 

Connecting the stumps a line should ti^i-- 
be drawn (marked in any convenient man- 
ner) extending three feet beyond each end of 
the wicket. This is called the "bowling 
crease." At each end of the bowling crease 
(and crossing it at right angles) lines (known 
as " return creases ") should be drawn to the 
" popping crease," which is another line ex- 
tending indefinitely across the field four feet 
in front of (and parallel to) the wicket. These 
various lines bound the " batsman's ground," 
and he is liable to be put out at any time 
when neither one of his feet nor his bat 
(held in his hand) is touching the ground 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



within their Hmits. The different ways in which he 
can be put out will be shown presently. (In speak- 
ing of the front of a wicket the side nearest the 
other wicket is of course meant.) 

The contest at cricket is between two sides of 
eleven men each, with two umpires (one near each 
wicket) to decide disputes and to take general 
charge of the game. There are two innings (or 
turns at the bat) for each side in rotation ; an in- 
nings lasting until all the eleven have been to the 
bat and until ten of them have been put out. As 




himself behind one of the wickets with one foot 
(when delivering the ball) back of the bowling 
crease and between the return creases ; another (the 
" wicket-keeper ") behind the opposite wicket ready 
to receive the ball if the batsman fails to hit it ; 
a third (the " long stop ") back of the wicket-keeper, 
to field balls passing both the batsman and wicket- 
keeper ; and the other eight at " short-slip," " long- 
slip," "short-leg," "long-leg," "point," "cover- 
point," " mid-of? " and " mid-on " — the o^side being 
at the right-hand of the batsman as he faces the 



8 inches wide. 



BOWLING CREASE. 

[6 feet 8 inches in length. 



BATSMAN'S 



BOWLING CREASE 
THE BLOOKvHt 



GROUND 



LINE OF POPPING CREASE— UNLIMITED IN LENGTH. 



WICKET. 



in base-ball the playing of each side is directed by a 
captain, chosen from among his eleven, and, also 
as in that game, the two captains decide by a toss- 
up the choice of innings. When this is settled the 
captain of the team which is to have the first in- 
nings sends two of his men to bat and they accord- 
ingly place themselves within the " crease " lines, 
one at each wicket. They face each other and, of 
course, are both between the two wickets, standing 
usually a little to one side so that their bodies will 
not be in the way of the ball as it is bowled from 
wicket to wicket. The other nine of their side are 
only spectators of the game until summoned to 
take the place of batsmen who have been put out. 
On the fielding side one (the " bowler ") places 



bowler and the on side at his left-hand. It is the 
duty of each fielder to catch (if possible) any batted 
ball that flies near him, and to get the ball when- 
ever it comes his way back to bowler or wicket- 
keeper as speedily as he can. The positions of the: 
fielders will be found on the cricket diagram (see 
page 9). It should be remembered, however, that the 
places as iharked are only relative to each other ; 
the exact spot each man occupies depending upon 
the peculiarities of the players who are bowling and 
batting at the time. For instance if the batsmaj 
is known to be a heavy hitter and likely to send 
the ball a considerable distance, the fielders should 
stand further off than they otherwise would. Or 
if the bowler is able to deliver swift, curved balls^ 



CRICKET. 



such as a batsman would have difficulty in hitting the return creases, " no ball " is called by the um- 
squarely, the fieldsmen should draw in closer so as pire; and "no ball" is also called if he jerks or 
to increase their chances of catching the striker out. throws the ball instead of bowling, tossing or pitch- 

LCNG-LEG/ 



The Field Positions 



LONG-STOP 



COVER-POINT 




MJD-OFF 



When everything is in readiness the bowler be- 
gins the game by bowling, tossing or pitching the ball 
at the opposite wicket, so as, if possible, to knock off 
one (or both) of the bails. If in doing this neither one 
of his feet is behind the bowling crease and within 



ing it. He can run with the ball from any distance 
he chooses behind the bowling crease, provided that, 
when he delivers the ball one foot at least is behind 
that crease and within the return creases. If he 
delivers the ball so high or so much to one side that. 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



in the opinion of the umpire, it is beyond the reach 
of the opposite batsman (when the latter is in his 
ground), a " wide ball " is called. After bowling 
the ball at the same wicket four times (under some 
rules five and under other rules six times), exclusive 
of " no balls " and " wide-balls," an " over " is called 
by the umpire and the ball is then bowled an equal 
number of times to the other wicket. This alterna- 
tion of wickets bowled at is kept up during the in- 
nings and throughout the game. At each over, of 
course, the fielders have to shift their ground, so 
that similar positions will be held relative to the 
wicket to be bowled at that had previously been oc- 



nings. He can, of course, bowl every other over, 
thus alternating at the wicket and in the field with 
cover-point, long-stop, or any other player, so that 
all the bowling during the game may be done by two 
men from each team. 

During the first over, or until a run is made, the 
batsman at the bowler's wicket has nothing to do 
but to keep within his ground, stand at whichever 
side of the wicket the bowler directs (so as not to 
interfere with the bowling), and be on the look-out 
for opportunities to make runs. It is his fellow- 
batsman that has the real work to do. The latter 
has, in the first place, to guard his wicket from be- 




FIELD POSITIONS. 



cnpied relative to the -former one. It is not essen- 
tial, however, that the individuals shall all retain 
the same zxAasX positions ; in fact it is quite custom- 
ary for many of them to exchange positions on the 
alternation of overs (" long-leg " with " mid-on," 
" long-slip " with " mid-off " for examples), in order 
to economize the time which would otherwise be 
used in frequent crossings between distant points 
of the field. The same player generally serves as 
wicket-keeper throughout the game, but the bowler 
is usually changed with every over ; in fact the rules 
do not permit of his bowling more than two overs 
in succession, nor can he change ends (i.e., wickets 
at which he bowls) oftener than twice in one in- 



ing put down (that is, having one or both of the bails 
knocked off) by the ball bowled at it. This is 
always his first and greatest duty. If he fails in it 
he is "bowled out" and his hopes of distinguishing 
himself in that innings are over. Nothing is left for 
him to do in that event but to retire to the rear and 
to applaud (with whatever heart he can) the play of 
the others. Such a catastrophe he is ever on the 
alert to prevent by interposing his bat between the 
stumps and the ball and so diverting its course 
away from the wicket — or " blocking the ball," as it 
is termed. If the ball is bowled straight he can 
easily accomplish this by placing his bat upright 
with one end on the ground at a point called the 



CRICKET. 



II 




" block-hole " (about the length of a bat 
and its handle in front of the middle 
stump). But if the ball comes with a curve 
or a twist it is not always so easy to stop it, 
and a batsman then needs to be quick and 
cool if he would save his wicket. 

In turning the ball from the wicket the 
batsman has to be very careful to do it only 
with his bat, for if the ball should touch 
any part of his body he would be out — 
in a " leg before wicket " style as it is 
called. This, however, only applies if the 
ball is bowled in a straight line and when 
it would (in the 
umpire's opinion) 
have hit the wick- 
et had it not been ^— — — 
obstructed by the 
person of the bats- 
man. But not only has the 
batsman to take care that 
the ball does not strike 
either him or the wicket, 
he must be at equal pains 
that he does not hit the 
wicket himself with foot or 
bat, for if the bails (or 
either of them) should get 
carelessly knocked off in 
this way a "hit wicket" 
would put him out as effect- 
ually as a " leg before wick- 
et " or being " bowled out." 
Or again, if unguardedly 
he steps entirely outside of 
his ground (that bounded 
by the four crease lines) 
without either one foot or his bat (held in his hand) 
touching the earth within it, the wicket-keeper can 
" stump " him out by knocking off one (or both) of 
the bails with the ball or with his hand which holds 
the ball. There are thus four ways in which a bats- 
man while guarding his wicket can be put out unless 
he shows the utmost watchfulness and caution. 

Protecting his wicket, however, is only a part of 
a batsman's work — the most necessary part undoubt- 
edly, but by no means the most glorious part. While 
it certainly prevents his opponents from getting a 
chance to score, it not less certainly scores nothing 
for him or for his side. To score he must make 
" runs," and to make runs he must exchange places 
with the batsman at the other wicket. He is at 
liberty to try to do this whenever he chooses, but 




THE RIGHT WAY TO 
CATCH. 



BOWLING. 

always at the risk while doing so of being "run 
out ; " that is, of having a wicket put down (when 
he is out of his ground) by any of the fielding side 
knocking off a bail with the ball or with the hand 
holding the ball. Naturally, therefore, he does not 
often attempt to make many runs when the bowler 
or wicket-keeper has possession of the ball, but on 
" wide balls " which pass the wicket-keeper and 
long-stop he sometimes can safely run and also on 
swift balls which similarly are not stopped in time. 




WICKET-KEEPER. 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS TOR BOYS. 



When one batsman runs of course the other must 
do so as well in order to take the former's place 
at the wicket which he leaves. Either wicket can 
be put down when the batsmen are running (and 
while they are ofif their ground) and either runner 
can be put out. If a wicket is put down before 
the two men have crossed (i.e., passed each other 




.i.ViHi.M. hJliA .|r, !'i | ?'lf'"r " ''i"»t""""" *"'' 



CAUGHT AND BOWLED. 

in running between wickets) the one who left the 
wicket which has been put down is out, but if they 
have passed each other when its bails are knocked 
off it is the one running towards it who has to 
give up his bat. 

But for most of his runs the batsman must rely 
upon his batting. If he can hit the ball with his 
bat as it is bowled towards his wicket and drive it 



to a distant part of the field he can perhaps make 
a number of runs before the ball is gotten back to 
bowler or wicket-keeper. And this is where the 
highest skill (or at least the skill which counts the 
most) in cricket comes in. For unlike base-ball 
(where at the best a batsman can make only one 
complete run on a single hit ball) cricket permits a 
striker to score as many runs (pass as 
many times from one wicket to the 
other) off one batted ball as he is physi- 
cally capable of. He cannot, however, 
make any runs if the ball is caught 
on the fly {i.e., before it touches the 
ground) by an opponent after it has 
been hit, for then he is " caught out " ; 
and, of course, both he and his fellow- 
batsman would render themselves liable 
to be run out if in their ambition to pile 
up the score they should allow the ball 
to get back to either wicket when they 
were out of their ground. It would be 
well to note here that a batsman is 
at perfect liberty to strike at " no balls " 
and that runs made from them count 
equally with those made off fair balls. 
But he cannot be stumped out or bowled 
out on such balls, nor can he be stumped 
out on " wide balls." A striker is never 
obliged to run when he hits the ball, 
as running is always optional with 
him ; but it is to his advantage to do 
so whenever he thinks he can get safely 
to the other wicket. His fellow-bats- 
man generally gives the cue for running, 
as he is freer to watch for chances than 
is the striker. 

At the end of the first over, provided 
no runs have been made during it, the 
second batsman becomes the striker ; 
and at the end of that over, still sup- 
posing that no runs have been scored, 
the first batsman has his turn again. 
But if during an over one run should 
be made then the other batsman be- 
comes the striker for the remainder of 
that over. This applies also to three, five or any odd 
number of runs. On an even number of runs (two, 
four, six, etc.) the same batsman remains striker 
throughout the over. The reason for this is that 
the batsman at the wicket bowled at is always 
the striker. Hence, after an odd number of runs 
the batsmen find themselves at the opposite wickets 
from which they were at before, while even runs 



CRICKET. 



13 



leave them in the same places. It follows from 
this that as the wicket bowled at is invariably 
changed with each over and as the batsmen only- 
change wickets on an odd number of runs, that at 
the end of an over they may, or may not, be in 
front of the same wickets they were at the start, 
— this depending entirely upon their runs. They 
might interchange wickets during every over for 
many overs in succession (which would happen if 
in each case there was an odd number of runs), 
thus causing the same batsman to serve continu- 
ously as striker for quite a length of time, and 
this not infrequently occurs. 

Either batsman having been put out, another 
man is sent by the captain of the team to try his 
luck at scoring. This continues, each batsman as 
he is retired being replaced by another one, until ten 
of them have been put out and one solitary man is 
left in front of the wickets, who, for lack of a com- 
panion, has " to carry his bat out " without having 
had, perhaps, the chance to make a single run. 
One batsman may remain at the wickets much 
longer than another ; he may (and, in fact, often is) 
able to keep his place while player after player on 
his side is successively retired ; and he can thus 
sometimes roll up a score greater than that of all 
the others combined. 

Besides the runs (between wickets) actually made 
by a batsman, he can score for his side in other 
ways. On every " no-ball " and " wide-ball " bowled 
to him his team is allowed to add one to its score,- 
provided he does not attempt to run. If he chooses 
to run, then only the runs actually made are counted. 




BATTING. 

Should the fielders at any time be unable to find the 
ball after it has been batted and one of them should 
call " lost ball," running is then stopped and the 
batsman is credited with six runs — unless he had 
really made more than that number before "lost 




RUN OUT. 



14 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



ball " was called, in which event he counts what he 
had made. He is also given five runs whenever a 
fieldsman intentionally stops the ball with his hat or 
any other article. 

In keeping the score of a batsman, a separate 
record is made of the runs off batted balls, "wide 
Dalls," " no-balls," " byes " and " leg-byes." Byes 
are runs obtained from balls which pass close to the 
wicket without touching the striker and which the 
umpire had not previously called " wide " or " no- 
balls " ; and " leg-byes" are runs on similar balls 
which Cxi, touch the striker. (Runs of course can 



the opposing teams. For a similar reason, when 
the side that bats first fails to make as much in its 
two innings as its opponents made in their first 
innings, the latter win the game without batting a 
second time. With these exceptions, a full gam.e 
of cricket always consists of two innings for each 
side. By mutual agreement, however, it can be 
shortened to one complete innings, and sometimes 
bad weather or want of time renders this absolutely 
necessary. As a full game of cricket often lasts 
two (and not seldom three) days, accidents will fre- 
quently end it before it can be played entirely out. 




^^t^^^^^iM^ 




PITCHING. 



only be made on " leg-byes " when the ball is not 
bowled straight, as otherwise the striker would be 
out, "leg before wicket.") Though the records of 
these various kinds of runs are kept separately, they 
all count equally in making up the score of a side ; 
but the batsman personally only gets the credit of 
runs made off batted balls. 

Should the side that went to the bat second be 
eighty or more runs behind its opponents at the 
end of the first complete innings, it goes first to the 
bat in the second innings. If then it fails to gain a 
lead its opponents do not take their second innings, 
as they have won the game without it. This regu- 
lation helps to save a needless waste of time when 
the first innings discloses much disparity between 



and then only the score of the first innings is 
counted. 

When it is impossible or difficult to muster twenty- 
two players for double-wicket cricket, boys will find 
the single-wicket game an excellent substitute for 
the regular one, and it will moreover afford them 
capital practice in training to become expert crick- 
eters. Any number over two can play, but at least 
five are desirable. One of these bowls, another 
keeps the wicket, the third is batsman, and the 
others (if there are any) act as fielders. Should six 
or more be playing they can be divided into two 
teams ; but with a smaller number it is best for all 
to unite against whoever is batsman for the time 



CRICKET. 



IS 



being, and each score independently of the others. 
In such a case, the batsman when he is put out be- 
comes wicket-keeper (or goes to the field) ; the 
wicket-keeper takes the place of the bowler, and 
the latter has a turn at the bat ; all the players thus 
rotating in the various positions. A stump is 
driven into the ground where the second wicket is 
usually placed, and the bowler delivers the ball from 
this stump. Another stump is placed half way be- 
tween the bowler's stump and the wicket (but a 



little to one side, so as to be out of the way of the ball 
as bowled), and the batsman must run to this stump, 
touch it with his bat and return to his own ground 
in order to score. Generally the same rules apply 
in single-wicket cricket as in the full game, except 
that with less than five on a side "byes" are not 
allowed, the batsman cannot be stumped out, and 
bounds are set (twenty-two yards each side of the 
wicket) within which a struck ball must land to 
entitle the batsman to make runs. 




THE BOYS GAME 



i6 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



FOOT-BALL. 




If cricket is the game of 
Great Britain and base- 
ball that of the United 
States, foot-ball belongs 
equally to both countries, 
and is as great a favorite 
with the students in Amer- 
ican colleges as among 
those In the English schools. There are a few dif- 
ferences in the way it is played on the two sides of 
the Atlantic, but they are only minor ones, the 
essential principles remaining everywhere the same. 
What is here described is the American game. 

At each of the two further ends of a field, three 
hundred and thirty feet long and one hundred and 
sixty feet wide, are erected two posts, eighteen and 
a half feet apart, and at least twenty feet high. Ten 
feet above the ground 
a cross-bar is fast- 
ened to the posts, the 
whole forming what 
is known as a "goal." 
Each goal is in the 
centre of its " goal- 
line " (the name of 
the shorter boundary 
of the field), and conse- 
quently distant a little 
over seventy feet from 
the "touch" (or side) 
lines, as the longer 
boundaries are called. 
Across the field at in- 
tervals of five yards 
white lines (parallel 
to the goal-lines) are 
marked for the purpose 
of determining dis- 
tances and positions. 
There should of course 
be some little space 
outside of the boun- 
dary (goal and touch) 
lines, to allow room lor 
play. That back of the 
goal-lines is called " in 
goal" ir "goal 
ground " ; that outside 




TOUCH IN 
GOAL 


IN GOAL 


CROSS BAR 


1 ft. to Cross Bar 

z 

o 

> 


TOUCH IN 
GOAL 


iSlit.-wide 


IN TOUCH 
GROUND 


" 


■a 

IN TOUCH 
GROUND 


FIVE YARD LINES 








LINE OF KICK OUT 

PLACE OF KICK OFF 

1 * 












ICO leet wide 





DIAGRAM OF FOOT-BALL GROUND. 



of the touch-lines " in touch 
ground " ; and that at each 
corner beyond the intersec- 
tion of the goal and touch- 
lines "touch in goal." 

Two sides of eleven men 
each face each other in this 
field with a soft egg-shaped 
hall (its greatest circumfer- 
ence about twenty-eight inches) between them, 
and the struggle in foot-ball is to get possession 
of this ball so as to kick it (under certain restric- 
tions) over the cross-bar and between the posts of 
the opposite goal, that is, of the goal which the 
side faces at the opening of the game. Five points 
are credited to a team whenever one of its men thus 
kicks a goal/rom the field. Four points are made 

when a player touches 
the ground back of his 
opponents' goal with 
the ball, or makes a 
"touch-down," as this 
is termed. After a 
" touch-down," the side 
making it has the priv- 
ilege of a " try at goal " 
without interference 
from its opponents. 
This is done by carry- 
ing the ball back into 
the field (any distance 
desired, usually about 
twenty paces), on a 
straight line (i. e., one 
crossing the goal-line 
at right angles) from 
the point where the 
touch-down was made, 
and then attempting 
to kick it over the goal. 
The best kicker on the 
side makes this at- 
tempt, as it is not nec- 
essary that it should 
be done by the same 
player who made the 
touch-down. Should 
he succeed in kickino- 



FOOT-BALL. 



17 



it over the goal, two points are scored in addition 
to the four from the touch-down. (Another way of 
" trying at goal " from a touch-down is by a " punt 




out," which will be described further on in this ar- 
ticle in connection with "fair catches.") Besides 
these three ways of scoring (a touch-down, a goal 
obtained from a touch-down, and a goal obtained 
from a field kick), there is a fourth way, called a 
"safety touch-down," made by a player touching 
the ground back of his own goal with the ball in 
order to protect it from the enemy. This counts 
two against the side making it. 

Unlike most other field sports, a game of foot-ball 
always lasts a fixed length of time, and it is the side 
that scores the most points during this period that 
wins the match. One hour and a half is the time 
set (exclusive of all unavoidable delays from settling 
disputes, accidents, intermission, etc.), divided into 
two equal periods of forty-five minutes each, and at 
the end of each half time play has to stop as soon 
thereafter as the ball becomes " dead " in any of the 
■ways to be described further on — unless a " touch-* 




the choice of " kick-off," or first chance at the ball. 
When a goal is made, the side losing the goal has 
the following " kick-off." But in the second half, 
the '■ kick-off" always goes to the side which did 
not have it at first. Goals are exchanged at the end 
of the half, the choice in the first place commonly 
being given to the team which did not have the 
kick-off. 

When the game begins, the ball is placed on the 
ground exactly in the centre of the field, and each 
of the two teams (in its own half of the ground) 
range themselves in four lines in front of their goal. 
Nearest to the ball are the " rushers," seven in num- 
ber, stretched across the field in a line parallel to 
the goal-line, the two end men usually hanging a 
little behind the others, so as to the -more readily 
tackle any opponent who may break through the 




down" has just been made, when a " try at goai " 
can follow. At the opening of the game the two 
captains decide by a toss-up which side is to have 



COLLARED. 

middle of the line. The heaviest work in the game 
comes upon the rushers, and they should therefore 
be the largest and strongest players on the side, 
but they need speed and agility as well as weight 
and muscle. From his place in the line their leader, 
who should be their most powerful man, is often 
called " centre rush." Directly back of the centre 
rush, in a line by himself, stands the " quarter-back," 
usually of smaller build than the rushers, but an 
active, alert player, who can quickly pass the ball to 
the " half-backs" Vi'ho are stationed (at some dis- 
tance apart) behind him. Occasionally the quarter- 
back will stand actually in the rush line, making as 
it were an eighth rusher. The half-backs (two in 
number) form the third line of each side, and they 
ought to be the best runners and dodgers in their 
team, as either is expected when he once gets hold 



i8 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



of the ball to be able to carry it well forward into the 
enemy's territory. But, above all, they should be 



X 



60AL 



F.B.X 



H.B.X 



X H.B. 



X Q.3. 



R. X 



K R. 



KICKOFFO 



X R, 



X G.B 



H.B. X 



X H>B. 



It F.B. 



GOAL 



Struggling to get control of the ball and to keep it 
away from their own goal and to carry it towards 
the opposite goal. To an uninitiated spectator they 
seem almost continuously to be in a hopeless 
tangle. 

Three kinds of kicks are defined in foot-ball : a 
" place-kick," when the ball is lying on the ground 
at the time it is kicked ; a " punt," when the ball is 
dropped and kicked before it touches the ground ; 
and a " drop-kick," when the ball is kicked as it 
rebounds from the ground after being dropped. 
(As a matter of fact, the ball in a place-kick, instead 
of actually lying on the ground, is held a very little 
above the ground by another player until the kicker 
is ready ; it is then put down by the one holding it, 
and instantly kicked by the other.) The kick-off 
must be a place-kick, and as it is not allowable (nor 
would it be very easy) to make a goal from a kick-ofif, 
the captain of the team who won the toss-up usually 
starts the game by kicking the ball gently back 
(" dribbles " it, as it is called) to his own side, so as 
to give one of his half-backs an opportunity, if pos- 
sible, to run with it through or around the opposing 
rushers towards the enemy's goal. If the captain, 
instead of thus sending the ball back, should vigor- 
ously kick it forward, it would probably at once 
come into possession of his opponents, and thus 



DIAGRAM OF FOOT-BALL POSITIONS. 

Strong and expert kickers, as the chances of making 
ft goal come to them oftener than to any other play- 
ers. The fourth line comprises only one man, the 
" full-back," who stands closest to the goal in the 
rear of all the rest. His especial duty is to guard 
the goal by driving the ball back into the field 
whenever it comes uncomfortably near his goal- 
line. These various positions are only held at the 
beginning of each half, or after a goal has been 
kicked, or at certain other stages of the game when 
it is necessary for the players to re-form their lines 
and to begin as it were afresh. Most of the time 
the men are surging back and forth over the field. 




DEFENDING THE GOAL. 



the advantage of the kick-off would quickly be lost 
to the side which had won it. The kick-off need 






'f^p 




te' '" 



jgig&ilteiiSgg 



FOOTBALL. 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



not be made by the captain of the team ; in fact it 
is usually made by the centre rush, who may or may 
not be the captain ; and instead of actually kicking 




HEADING. 

the ball back, he may (and often does) give it a very 
slight kick forward, and then seize it himself and 
pass it to half-back. The opposing side must re- 
main at least ten yards away from the ball until 
it has been kicked, and then they are at liberty to 
rush forward to get the ball if they can. The rush- 
ers of the side having the kick-ofi can stand close 
up to the ball. 

Should the half-back (or other player) who gets 
the ball on the kick-off succeed in stealing through 
or past the opposing rushers — and he may dodge or 
elude them in any way he chooses (by doubling, by 
running forward or back or to one side or the other) 
provided he stays within the touch-lines — he can 
take his chances either of securing a goal by a place- 
or drop-kick (but not by a punt), or of making a 
touch-down and then of obtaining a goal from that. 
It is very probable, however, that before he can do 
either one of these things he will be intercepted and 
caught (" tackled ") by some opponent, who may 
grasp him anywhere between shoulders and hips, 
but who must not attempt to catch him by head, 
neck or legs. When the runner sees his danger and 
that he cannot escape, he can pass (throw) the ball 
to any one else on his side who is back, or at either 
side of him (he is not allowed to pass it forward), 
and the latter can try his luck at running with it, or 
in turn can pass it to some one else (not in front of 
him), who is a better runner or is at the moment 



better placed for running. But if the runner is 
fairly caught with the ball in his possession, he can 
only retain exclusive control of it and be freed from 
the tackier by dropping it, marking with his heel 
the spot where it fell and crying " down " — that is, 
the holder of the ball is supposed to do all this. In 
reality he generally keeps the ball and simply calls 
" down." Then results what is known as a " scrim- 
mage." The ball is placed on the spot where it fell, 
or where down was called, and the two sides form 
lines (parallel to the goal-lines) close to the ball, each 
with the ball between itself and the opposite goal. 
The centre rush (termed in a scrimmage the " snap- 
per-back ") of the team whose runner called " down " 
then quickly " snaps " (kicks) the ball back to one 
of his side, his opponents throw themselves forward 
to seize it and the ball is again in play. All of the 
men are massed so closely together in a scrimmage 
that it takes very sharp work to get or to retain 
control of the ball. The men, however, have to 
show great care that they keep on their own side 
(back of the ball) until it is snapped back, for if they 
are detected by the umpire with even their heads or 
shoulders over the line they are " off side." They 
are also "off side" whenever in the course of the 
game the ball is kicked or touched by any of their 
side between them and their own goal-line. While 
off side they can take no part in the game until (i) 
the ball has been kicked by an opponent, (2) or un- 
til it has touched an opponent, (3) or until one of 




A NASTY JAR. 

their own side runs in front of them (i.e., between 
them and the opposite goal) either with the ball 
or after having kicked the ball from some place be- 



FOOT-BALL. 



hind {i.e., between them and their own goal). Any- 
one of these acts puts them " on side," and they can 
resume play. The theory of "off" and "on" side 
is that men must only play behind X^t, ball, and that 
when they allow themselves to get in front of it, their 
privileges are suspended until some one of the events 
mentioned above occurs to restore their rights. No 
man, however, can become off side in his own goal 
ground (back of his own goal-line). Players are so 
constantly forced to be at times off side in a sharply 
contested match, that often it is practically impos- 
sible to keep track of their movements, and to de- 
termine whether or not they are on side. If a man 
attempts to take part in the game while off side, a 
foul is declared, as is also done when one intention- 
ally delays the game or takes hold of an opponent 
who has not the ball in his possession. The penalty 



and running with him, thus forming a sort of body- 
guard which their opponents may not find it easy 
to break through. If a player, tackling the holder 
of the ball, can get his arms around it or otherwise 
secure an actual grasp of it with both hands, he can 
cry "held," and then a scrimmage follows, the same 
as if " down " had been called by his opponent — the 
side which had the ball, however, snapping it back. 
Held is generally called when the tackier finds him- 
self unable either to wrest the ball from its pos- 
sessor, or to prevent the latter from advancing with 
it; down being called when the one with the ball 
fears it will be taken from him, or when he finds his- 
further progress stopped. 

Care has to be constantly taken that the ball is 
not thrown or kicked over a touch-line, or that the 
man running with it does not step with even one 




A FAST FORWARD GAME. 



for a foul is a " down " for the opponents if they 
have not the ball ; if they have it they are allowed 
to advance with it five yards. 

If an opponent tackling the holder of the ball can 
get control of it before its guardian cries " down," 
he can similarly pass it to one of his fellows, or run 
with it, or kick it, or in any other lawful manner 
seek to advance it towards the other goal. His own 
side can materially aid him sometimes in this task, 
not only by holding themselves in readiness to re- 
ceive and pass the ball, but also by conveniently 
getting in the way of opponents who are trying to 
tackle him. All striking, pushing, pulling, kicking 
and running against others, however, are strictly 
forbidden, and as already stated, only the one with 
the ball can be grasped or caught. The rushers of 
a team can on occasions greatly help their half-back 
who is carrying the ball, by partly surrounding him 



foot outside the touch bounds, for if either of these 
things occurs, the ball at once becomes " in touch " 
and is " dead." (A ball is dead whenever for the 
moment it is out of play, as when down is called, or 
a goal kicked, or a touch-down made.) Thereupon 
the player who secures (or has) the ball when it goes 
into touch brings it back to the point where it 
crossed the line. He can then (i) throw it into the 
field at right angles to the line; or (2) he can bound 
it in or touch it in with both hands (always at right 
angles to the line), and then run with it, or throw it, 
or kick it back ; or (3) he can carry it into the field 
any distance not over fifteen yards (still on a line 
at right angles to the touch-line), and then put it 
down for a scrimmage. If he does not throw it out 
at right angles the first time, he must throw it 
again. If he fails on three attempts, the ball goes 
to his opponents. Sometimes the scrimmage takes 



22 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



place close to the touch-line. In such a case the 
lines have to be formed extending from the ball into 
the field, as the men cannot play outside of the touch 
bounds. The centre rushers stand at the end of the 
line with the ball between them, and the snapper- 
back sends it along back of his men, being careful 
that it does not get " in touch " again while doing 
so. In no scrimmage is either the snapper-back, or 
the opponent opposite to him allowed to seize and 
run with the ball until it has touched another play- 
er after being snapped back. Should the snapper- 
bacli be off side in snapping back the ball, he must 



to the touch-lines. His opponents must come no 
nearer to him than the spot where the ball was 
caught. A " fair catch " may also be made from 
what is known as a "punt-out." When a touch- 
down has been secured in the opponents' goal, 
instead of bringing the ball out into the field for a 
" try at goal " from a place-kick, it can be kicked 
out with a punt by any player of the side which 
touched it down, and from any spot behind the 
point where it crossed the goal-line, provided it is 
not nearer to the goal than this mark on the goal- 
line. The object of the punter-out is to kick the ball 




A COLLEGE GAME. 



try again ; and on a third repetition of the offence 
the other side takes the ball. (Bringing the ball into 
play after it has been " in touch " is called " a fair.") 
At any time during the progress of the game a 
man catching the ball directly from the kick of an 
opponent (and before it has touched the ground, or 
the body, or dress of any other player on his side), 
can, on crying " fair catch " and marking with his 
heel the spot, have a free kick at the ball. This can 
be either a drop-kick, a punt, or a place-kick, and 
can be taken from any point back of the mark he 
made (termed " catcher's mark "), on a line parallel 



so that one of his own side (who must all stand at 
least fifteen feet from the goal-line) may make a fair 
catch, and hence secure a free kick, and, if possible, 
get a goal. Until the ball is punted, the opponents 
must all remain on their goal-line, leaving, however, 
a clear space of five feet on each side of the mark 
where the ball crossed the line. If a fair catch is 
made from a punt-out, the mark on the goal-line 
serves as the catcher's mark, and the catcher takes 
his free kick back of it in the field in the same way 
he would have done had he caught the ball on an 
opponent's kick. Should the touch-down be made 



FOOT-BALL. 



23 



in a " touch in goal " (the corner spaces outside 
the field bounded by the touch- and goal-lines), the 
punter's mark is the point of intersection of the 
boundary lines. 

When a safety touch-down is made the side mak- 
ing it is obliged to kick the ball out into the field 
from some point between its goal-line and its 
twenty-five yards line, its opponents meanwhile 
approaching no closer than the twenty-five yards 
line. Should the ball on the kick-out go into touch 
before striking a player, it must be kicked out again 
under the same conditions, and on the third occur- 



start of the game, irrespective of which won or lost 
the last goal. 

For violation of the rules (in addition to offside 
play and other fouls already spoken of) various 
penalties are imposed. Tripping a man or catching 
him by the neck or legs is punished by giving the 
opponents a free kick or advancing them twenty- 
five yards, as they may prefer. (If, however, the 
twenty-five yards would carry the ball across the 
goal-line the advance is limited to half the distance 
between the spot where the offence was committed 
and the goal-line, and the option of a free kick is 




THE RUGBY GAME, IN ENGLAND. 



fence of this it passes into the possession of the 
other side and is treated as if it had gone into 
touch twenty-five yards from the goal where the 
safety had been made. 

Every goal kicked necessitates placing again the 
ball in the centre of the field and re-forming the 
lines of players as they were when the game began 
— the kick-off, as was said before, going to the side 
which lost the goal. At the commencement of the 
second half the same thing is done, but the kick-off 
is then given to the team which did not have it at the 



not granted.) Unnecessary roughness and hacking 
{i.e., kicking another on the shins) or striking with 
the closed fist disqualifies a player from remaining 
in the game. No one can take part in any match 
who wears shoes with projecting nails or which have 
iron plates on them ; nor shall any sticky or greasy 
substance be used on the person of players. While 
foot-ball at the best must always be rather a rough 
game, there is no reason why it should be a brutal 
one or that those who take part in it cannot safely 
do so without risk of serious bodily injury. 



24 



OUT- DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



LACROSSE. 




Canada's national game is an inheritance from 
the Indians, among whom it was a favorite sport 
long before the whites settled in what is now the 
Dominion. As the principal implement (next to 
the ball) used in the game was originally shaped 
somewhat like a bishop's crosier the French (who 
were the first people to colonize Canada) gave it 
the name of la crosse, which in English means "the 
cross." The modern "crosse," however, has very 
little resemblance to the great religious emblem, and 
in other ways the game has altered considerably 
since its adoption by the whites. Though it is far 
from rivalling base-ball in American popularity it is 
now quite generally played throughout the United 
States, and has become a common amuse- 
ment in many of our schools and colleges, 

As in foot-ball the object of the game is to get 
the ball through either of two goals situated at op- 
posite ends of the field. The distance between the 
goals must be one hundred and twenty-five yards, 
and each goal consists of two poles, which must be 
at least six feet high and which are planted in the 
earth six feet apart. There is no cross-bar over 
which the ball must be sent ; it is sufficient for it to 
pass between the posts. The ball is of sponge 
rubber about eight inches in circumference, and 
the great peculiarity of the game is that this ball 
must not be touched by the hand during the progress 



of the match, but only by the crosse. (The few tri- 
fling exceptions to this rule will be duly noted in their 
proper place.) There is no limit set for the width of 
the field or for the space to be used back of the goals ; 
that depends upon the size of the tract of ground 
available for the purpose. But it is important before 
a game begins to mutually agree upon "bounds" 
beyond which the ball is to be considered out of play. 
The crosse is a piece of light wood (any length 
desired), one end of which is crooked, or bent in a 
curve. Across the crooked end a net is made by 
lacing it with catgut from the tip of the crook to a 
point about two and a half feet from the bend. In 
its widest part this net should not be over one foot. 
The lacing ought not to be tight as in a tennis 
racket, but sufficiently loose to sag a little so as to 
form a slight pocket for the ball when it rests upon 
the net. On the other hand the lacing must be 
tight enough to prevent its bagging and to cause 
the net to lie flat when the ball is not on it. The 
reason for this is that the crosse is used both for 
throwing the ball and for carrying it, hence it is 
necessary to have the netting firm enough to give 
the ball an impulse when thrown from it, but not so 
taut as to render it impossible for a skilful player 
to carry the ball on it while running. No metal 
whatever (screws or nails) can be used in making a 
crosse, and to prevent one crosse from getting en- 
tangled with another a string should be drawn from 
the extreme outer end of the crook to some part of 
the handle. This string is also of assistance in 
aiding a player to carry the ball on the crosse. The 
meshes of the net should be close enough together 
to avoid any chance of the ball slipping (or becoming 



/rN 




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-^, 



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:--^-: 



LACROSSE. 



25 



caught) within them. If, notwithstanding this pre- 
caution, the ball should get caught in the netting 
during a game, it must not be removed by the hand, 
but only by striking the crosse on the ground. 

Each side in a lacrosse match consists of twelve 
players scattered over the field in pairs, every man 
of one team (excepting only the goal-keepers) being 
stationed by an opponent. In the middle of the 
field, with the ball (at the outset of the game) on 
the ground between them, are the two " centres," 
each with his right side to his own goal. Near 
each goal stands " point," and a little way off " cover 



commonly they are described simply as fielders. 
On the diagram here given of a lacrosse field the 



p 

GOAL 



:^ 


POINT 




HOME* 


COVER POINT 


FIELD 




• 

SND HOME 


3RD HOME* 


•FIELD 
FIELD 






'''^'-°«f'?eld 


OENTREO 




• CENTRE 




• FIELD 
FIELD 


ofield 

FIELD* 


O3RD 
FIELD* 


HOME 


02ND HOME 

• o^.MTaOHOME 
COVER POINT POINT* 


• 

GOAL 


^ 



DIAGRAM OF A LACROSSE FIELD. 

The marks 9 aftd Q represent players of the respec- 
tive sides. 

point," each accompanied by an opponent. These 
with a "goal-keeper" (who stays close to his goal 
to defend it) for each team fill the principal positions 
— the other players comprising " the field." The 
opponents (companions) of point and cover-point 
are known as " home " and " second home " (or 
"inside home" and "outside home") and some- 
times the remaining twelve men are designated as 
"first defence," "second defence" and "third 
defence," and " first attack," " second attack " and 
" third attack " of their respective sides, but more 




THE TUSSLE. 

goal poles are represented with flags attached. 
These are a great convenience in the game as they 
show more clearly the goals to the players. It is 
also well for the men of each team to all wear alike 
some marked color about their dress in order to en- 
able the umpire and the spectators to more easily 
distinguish between contestants. Similar caps or 
blouses will answer as well as elaborate uniforms. 

When the men have all taken their places, the two 
centres kneel, and each, holding his crosse in both 
hands, lays it with its back close to the ball (its 
wood side on the ground), as shown in the follow- 
ing cut. The umpire then calls " play " or " go," and 
both men tussle for possession of the ball. In doing 
this neither of them must grasp the person or crosse 
of his opponent, nor must he touch the ball with his 
hands, nor can he catch the other's crosse under his 
arms or with his legs, nor is he allowed to strike, 
kick or trip the other. He may, however, strike 
his opponent's crosse with his own crosse, so as to 




PLAY. 



try to dislodge the ball, and shouldering (from the 
side only) is also permitted. (These rules apply 



26 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



generally to personal conduct in all stages of the 
game.) The object of the tussle is to pick up the 
ball with the crosse, so as to run with it (on the 
crosse) towards the opposite goal, or to throw it 
(only with the crosse always) towards that goal. 
Each of the centres while trying to do this is also 
striving to prevent his antagonist from doing the 
same thing, two working for opposite goals. The 
other players in the meanwhile should keep their 
places, waiting for the ball to come near them. If 
it should be pushed, thrown or dropped so"as to 
land close to another pair of opponents, then these 
two similarly struggle for its control. There is, 
however, no obligation on the part of the players to 
remain at their stations; but it is good play for 
them to do so, as crowding around the ball does 




CHECKING. 

not help a side, and desertion of a post (unless one 
has the ball) makes a weak spot in the defence or 
attack which may cost a side the game. Whenever 
the ball passes between the poles of a goal (from its 
field side), whether carried on a crosse or thrown 
from a crosse, it scores a game, and the team which 
scores the greater number of games during a given 
time (agreed upon in advance, usually an hour and 
a half) wins the match. If a player accidentally 
sends the ball through his own goal, it counts a 
game for his opponents — unless it passes through 
from behind the goal, when it counts nothing for 
either side. Goals must be exchanged at the end of 
every game, the choice in the first instance being 
decided by a toss-up. 



Under two circumstances only can the ball be 
touched by the hand : the first is when it gets lodged 
in some place inaccessible to the crosse. It is 
then taken out by the hand, placed on the ground, 
and the nearest pair of opponents " face " each other 
and tussle for it, as the centres did at the opening 
of the game. Should the ball be thrown out of 
bounds, it must be brought back to the spot in the 
field nearest the point it went out, and similarly 
"faced" by two opponents, the other men remain- 
ing in their places until the umpire sees that every- 
thing is in readiness, and until he calls " play" (oir 
" go"). The other instance in which the ball may be 
touched by a player is when it gets within six feet of 
a goal, and then the goal-keeper is permitted to pat 
it away with his hand, or block it in any manner he 
chooses with his body as well as with his crosse. 
This six feet line in front of each goal is called the 
" goal crease," and no opponent can cross it unless 
the ball has already passed cover point's position 
on that side of the field. Though players are not 
permitted to touch the ball with the hand (except 
in the cases just mentioned), they are allowed to 
kick it with the foot when contesting its possession 
with an opponent. 

Violations of rules in lacrosse constitute " fouls," 
and are punished by giving the man aggrieved his 
choice of either a free run or a throw. For this 
purpose, all of his opponents within ten feet of hira 
must stand back that distance, the others retaining 
their places. No one must stir until the player has 
started to run or to throw the ball (always, of course, 
with his crosse) after the umpire has called "play" 
(or "go"). But if the foul is allowed within twenty 
yards of the goal, the man must go back that far 
before taking his run or throw with the ball. Fouls 
are granted to a player whose crosse is grasped or 
held, or who is struck, tripped, or kicked, or who is 
shouldered from behind by an opponent, as pre- 
viously noted. They are also allowed him if any 
opponent (when more than six feet from the ball) 
runs in front of him, or in any way seeks to interfere 
with him and keep him from the ball until another 
opponent can reach it ; or, if he is interfered with 
by one opponent when pursuing another having 
the ball ; or, if he is shouldered even from the side 
by an opponent who is not at the time within six 
feet of the ball; or, if he is "charged into" by an 
opponent holding his crosse in both hands, so as 
to strike the body of the former with it ; or, if he 
is charged into by an opponent after throwing the 
ball. It is not a foul, however, if a player is acci- 
dentally hit by the ball, as it is his business to keep 



LACROSSE. 



27 



out of its way. More serious offences, where the 
intent is to injure another, are punished by exclud- 
ing the player from the field and compelling his side 
to finish the game shorthanded. No player wearing 



Lacrosse is a game full of life and snap, a little 
rough, perhaps, but not dangerously so. It is 
quickly played, and chains the attention of actor 
and watcher from first to last. Its theory and 




PICKING UP THE BALL. 



spiked shoes should ever be allowed to enter a match. 
The umpire, of course, is the sole judge of all offences 
and of all fouls and penalties. Instead of one, 
there are sometimes two umpires and a referee, the 



rules are simple, and can be readily learned in a 
very brief time. While it takes practice to master 
the handling of the crosse so as to promptly pick 
up and throw the ball with it, the skill is of a kind 




CATCHING. 



former placed one at each end of the field to de- 
cide whether the ball passes between goal poles, and 
the latter stationed near the players to see that the 
men " face" properly at the opening of the game, 
etc., and that the rules are observed. The final de- 
cision on all questions that arise is with the referee. 



which any one with a little patience can acquire. 
Strength, agility and speed are the three principal 
requisites for successful playing, in addition to 
the even temper and good judgment which are as 
essential in all amusements as they are in the more 
serious occupations of life. 



28 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



LAWN TENNIS. 



Thus far the games described have been intend- 
ed exclusively or principally for boys and men. 
The one next in order is equally adapted to both 
sexes and can be played with as much propriety by 
girls and women as by their masculine friends and 
relatives. It might be difficult to determine with 
which it is a greater favorite or among which it has 
a larger number of adherents, for certainly there are 



twenty-seven feet wide. Across the middle of this 
a net is stretched extending three feet beyond each 
side. The ends of the net are fastened to upright 
posts driven into the ground, and the top of the net 
should be three feet above the ground at its centra 
and three and a half feet at the posts. (A few 
inches space between the bottom of the net and the 
ground is a convenience in rolling "dead" balls 




few amusements which have so wide spread a pop- 
ularity among American and English people of all 
ages and classes as has lawn tennis. 

Either two, three or four persons can take part in 
the game, but an even number is better than an 
odd one. Each player must be provided with a 
racket, and two balls are required for common use. 
(It is as well to have extra balls always at hand in 
case the first two should get lost in the course of 
a " set.") On a level piece of ground there should 
be marked off (with white paint, slaked lime or 
marble dust) a rectangle seventy-eight feet long and 



back across the field to the server.) The erection 
of the net divides the rectangle into two spaces of 
equal size, thirty-nine feet long and (of course) 
twenty-seven feet wide. These in turn should be 
divided by a line running from the centre of the net 
(and at right angles to it) to each of the further 
boundaries, making four rectangles, each thirty- 
nine by thirteen and a half feet. Twenty-one feet 
each side of the net other lines should be drawn 
parallel to it. There will then be four divisions on 
each side of the net, two of which will be thirteen 
and a half by twenty-one feet, and two thirteen and 



LA WN TENNIS. 



29 



a half by nineteen feet. The whole forms a tennis- 
court for two players. By increasing the width 
four and a half feet on each side (the length re- 
maining the same) a court for three or four is made, 
the total dimensions of which would be seventy- 
eight by thirty-six feet. Sometimes courts are con- 
structed only for single (two-handed) play and 
sometimes only for double (three-or four-handed) 
play, as illustrated by the accompanying diagrams. 



If it is desired to have a court which can be used 
for either two, three or four players then the inte- 
rior side lines (as marked on the diagram of a dou- 
ble court) should be extended to the base line at 
each end. 

As the net must always project three feet beyond 
the side-lines, the total length of one required for 
double-court tennis is forty-two feet. This size can 
also be used in the single court game as there is 



« 



LEFT 



RIGHT 



SIDE 



W COURT. 

n 

COURT LINE. 



COURT. 



LINE. 



18 Feet. 



Feet.. 



RIGHT 



LEFT 



78 FEET 



COURT. 



COURT. 



LONG. 



e 



DIAGRAM OF FIELD FOR SINGLE-COURT LAWN TENNIS. 









1 






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m 

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SCOURT 
















1 


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SIDE LINES 












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1 







DIAGRAM OF FIELD FOR DOUBLE-COURT LAWN TENNIS. 



There is no real necessity of extending what in the 
first diagram is called the " court line " (and in the 
second diagram the " half court line ") beyond the 
" service lines " (/. e., from the " service lines " to 
the " base lines "), as there is no distinction made 
in playing between the two spaces or courts ad- 
joining the base lines. But it is necessary to have 
the middle point of the base lines marked in some 
manner and it is as convenient to do this by extend- 
ing the court line as in any other way. 



no restriction upon the net's extending more than 
the distance mentioned outside the lines. One 
net can thus be made to answer for either style of 
court. 

The balls used in tennis are light and elastic (so 
as to easily rebound) weighing close upon two 
ounces with a diameter of about two and a half in- 
ches. The size and weight of the racket depends on 
the fancy of the owner. From eleven to sixteen 
ounces are as extreme weights as are often found. 



3° 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



with perhaps fourteen ounces for an average. They 
are shaped somewhat Hke a battledore, a handle at 
one end and the other end wide and flat with 
which to strike the ball. This batting end is made 
by tightly lacing with catgut a half oval frame of 
wood. The handle may be of smooth wood, or may 
be covered with leather, or wound with cord, or 



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slightly roughened in any way to prevent it slipping 
when in use. 

In a two-handed game one player stands on each 
side of the net, the choice of positions being de- 
cided by a toss-up. The winner of the toss-up, in- 
stead of choosing his position, can elect whether 
he will first " serve " the ball or have his opponent 
serve it. In that case his antagonist has the choice 
of courts, as the same player cannot choose both 
position and the privilege of serving (or not serving) 
the ball. This choice of courts may be quite im- 
portant as, owing to the direction of the wind, the 
position of the sun or inequalities in the ground 
(when an absolutely smooth tract cannot be ob- 
tained), one court may possess a considerable ad- 
vantage over the other. At the end of each "set" 
(as a tennis series of games is termed) courts are 
always exchanged by opponents crossing to oppo- 
site sides of the net. 

The player who first serves the ball stands back 
at the extreme end of his court with one foot out- 
side the " base line " (the line furthest from the net 
and parallel to it) and at the right of the middle (or 
"court") line. He serves the ball by tossing it 
lightly in the air with one hand and then striking 
it with the bat held in his other hand before it 
touches the ground. In striking it his object is to 
send it into the court of his opponent adjoining the 
net and which is at his (the server's) left, that is into 
the court diagonally opposite to him. (Whether 
there are two or more playing, the place into 
which the ball must be served remains the same : 
it is always into a single-court space. It is for 
this reason that on the double-court diagram the 
interior spaces next to the net are of the same 



size as in a single-court. The outer side lines are 
not regarded in serving the ball.) Should the 
server fail to send the ball into the proper court 
(z". e., should it first touch the ground outside of 
that court) a "fault" is called, and he must try 
again with the second ball from the same position. 
If that similarly fails to land in the court played 
for, " fifteen " is scored in favor of his opponent. 
The server then changes his place to the left of the 
court line (but standing with one foot beyond the 
base line as before) and 
serves into his opponent's 
other net court. Should 
he again not succeed in 
delivering either ball into 
this court another fifteen is credited to his oppo- 
nent (making the score against the server thirty 
in all) and the server returns to his former place 
and delivers the balls as at first. In this way the 
same player continues to serve through an entire 
game, alternating between his two furthermost 
courts whenever a point is scored for or against 
him. Every time he makes two " faults " in suc- 
cession (that is, misses with both of his balls) his 
opponents score, and a game is not infrequently 
lost by beginners in lawn tennis soley by faults 
in serving the ball. It is to be noted that a served 
ball touching the top of the net and then falling 
over into the proper court is counted neither as 
a fault nor as a good ball ; it simply is disregarded 
and the server delivers the ball over again. 

But if the server succeeds in sending either of his 
balls over the net into the proper court, then his 
opponent (the " striker-out ") must be ready on the 
first rebound of the ball from the ground to strike 
it back with his racket over the net. For this 
purpose he had better stand a little behind his 
" service line " (the line which is between, and par- 
allel to, the base and net lines). He is not allowed to 




strike a served ball before it touches the ground 
and only then on its first rebound. If he fails to 
hit it before it touches the ground a second time, 
" fifteen " is scored for his opponent (the server). 
Or if he does hit it in time and it strikes against 
the net, falling back into the court of the striker- 
out ; or if it clears the net and lands outside of the 



LA WN TENNIS. 



31 



boundary lines (z. e., beyond the base and side 
lines) of his opponent's courts it scores the same 
(fifteen) for the server. 

Should the ball be properly returned over the 
net by the striker-out and the server sees that it is 
going to land within one of his courts, he must 
be equally prepared to send it back again by striking 
it with his racket either on the first bound or before 
it touches the ground — the prohibition from hitting 
balls on the fly ("volleying" it is called in tennis) 
only applying to balls as they are served. On the 
server's returning the ball over the net the striker- 
out in turn sends it back again (if he can), and so 
the ball is struck back and forth over the net until 
finally it lands outside of the bounds (when it scores 



is called " deuce " and one of them must make two- 
strokes in succession to secure the game. The first 
who makes a stroke after the score has reached 
"deuce" is said to have the "advantage" (com- 
monly shortened to "vantage"). If his opponent 
then makes a stroke the score returns to " deuce ; ' 
if the same opponent then makes the next stroke, 
the latter then has the " advantage ; " and if the 
next stroke is again made by the same player he 
wins the game ; but if it is made by the first player 
" deuce " is once more the score and the two must 
again struggle first for the advantage and then 
for the game. In calling out the score as the 
game progresses that of the server is customarily 
named first : thus, " fifteen-forty " means the server 





FIELDING. 



against the one who last hit it), or until one of the 
players fails to strike it before its second rebound 
or else lands it within his own court-lines (when it 
scores against him). Whenever a score is made 
the balls become dead, the server takes them again 
and, returning to his base-line, plays for the court 
into which he did not last serve. This is done 
whether the point scored had been made by the 
one side or the other or off the first or second ball 
previously served, the alternation in courts follow- 
ing the score and not the number of balls delivered. 
As already stated, the first point gained by either 
player counts fifteen and the second fifteen more, 
or thirty in all. His third stroke advances him to 
forty and his fourth wins him the game, provided 
his opponent has not yet scored more than thirty. 
When, however, both players have each made three 
strokes and therefore are tied at " forty " the score 



has made one stroke (fifteen) and his opponent 
three strokes (forty) ; " thirty all " signifies that 
each has make two strokes (thirty) ; " forty-love " 
indicates that the server has made three strokes 
and his opponent none; "vantage for" shows that 
the advantage (over deuce) is in favor of the server, 
and "vantage against" that the stroke beyond 
deuce was made by the striker-out. 

Whichever player first secures six games wins the 
" set " or contest, which thus may require eleven 
games to decide it. Sometimes it is agreed in ad- 
vance that if the score should become five to five 
"vantage games" shall be played, in other words 
that one of the contestants must be the winner of 
two consecutive games after the score of "deuce 
games" (or "games all " as it is generally called) is 
reached. In such a case the set may necessitate the 
playing of twenty or more games to determine the 



32 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



match, as the advantage may swing back and forth 
between the players for a long time. It is the ex- 
ception and not the rule, however, to play " vantage 
games," and it is not commonly done except in con- 
tests between clubs or for championships. One 
player having served throughout the first game, the 
other serves during the second ; in the third the 
service returns to the one who had it before, and 
so it alternates until the set is completed. Each 
player serves from his own side of the net, courts 
ordinarily being exchanged only at the end of sets. 

When four are playing, the partner of the server 
generally stands well up towards the net on the 
opposite side of the court-line from which the server 
is delivering the balls. He is thus in a position 
to return the ball if the striker-out succeeds in 
sending it back over the net. The partner of the 
first striker-out, on the other hand, stations him- 
self back near the base-line also with the court-line 
between himself and the striker-out. By placing 
themselves in this way the two sides of each court are 
protected as well as the front and back. The part- 
ners usually arrange in advance whether, after the 
ball is once in play, one shall look after the right- 
hand side of their court and the other the left-hand 
side, or whether one shall have particular charge of 
the front and the other of the back. Which of these 
arrangements it is best to make will depend largely 
upon the style of play of the individuals, and of 
course it would not be wise to always adhere rigidly 
to either plan, but to modify it as emergencies in 
the game arise. The two opponents of the server 
receive the balls alternately during the game, one 
those delivered into the right-hand court and the 
other those played into the left-hand court, the 
same person not being permitted to act as striker- 
out for two successive strokes. 

In the second game of a four-handed match the 
one who had been the first striker-out becomes 
server and the partner of the former server now first 
acts as striker-out; the latter in tlie third game 
becoming server. The partner of the first striker- 
out serves in the fourth game. This order of rota- 
tion is preserved during tne set and results in each 
player's serving in regular turn. At the beginning 
of a second set in either a two or four-handed contest 
the first server is customarily the one who was the 
first striker-out in the last game of the previous set. 

Though the ball must be served into the same 
sized space in a four-handed game as in a two- 
handed one, it can be returned (in the former case^ 
into any part of the enlarged double-court, and the 
server or his partner can similarly then send it back 



anywhere within their opponents' double-court. 
The increased width of a double-court is thus avail- 
able for every purpose excepting serving balls. But 
in a three-handed game where one piayer is pitted 
against two others the latter can only return balls 
within the single-court bounds, while the former has 
the privilege of sending the ball within the double- 
court limits of his opponents' territory. This is 
but just as there are two men to cover the ground 
in one case and only one in the other, and it 
would be almost impossible for a single player to 
properly guard so great a tract unaided. The 
single player serves every alternate game in a three- 
handed contest. 

Should the ball at any stage of a game fall on a 
boundary line it is considered as within the adjoin- 
ing court. Any ball which a player strikes at or 
attempts to return is to be reckoned a good ball 
even if it would otherwise have landed outside of 
the court-space. Generally, however, when it is 
quite evident that the ball will not fall within the 
boundaries a player, standing on or near his base- 
line, is allowed to stop it (on crying " fault " or 
" miss " before he intercepts it) without its scoring 
against him. This is permitted in order to save a 
needless waste of time in chasing balls. The server 
must not deliver a ball until the striker-out is ready, 
indicated usually by the latter taking his position 
or responding when the former calls " play." A 
ball delivered before the striker-out is ready counts 
for nothing (like a " net ball ") and must be de- 
livered over again. But should the striker-out at- 
tempt to return it, he cannot then claim it was not 
a good ball. If a ball when returtud by either 
player strikes the net and then falls over it, it is 
regarded as a good ball — though a served ball under 
similar circumstances (as already explained) is not 
counted. Should a player, however, send the ball 
against one of the posts of the net, or allow it to 
touch himself or anything he wears or carries, ex- 
cepting his racket in the act of striking, it scores 
against him ; as it also does if he hits the ball twice 
or more, or if he touches the net or posts with his 
racket while the ball is in play. 

Perhaps as useful a conclusion to this description 
as any that could be written will be the decisions 
which Mr. James Dwight, a well-known English 
authority on lawn tennis, has prepared on a few 
doubtful cases such as are most likely to arise in 
the experience of any one when learning the game. 

Case I. Can a player follow a ball over the net 
with his racket, provided that he hits the ball on 
his own side of the net.' 




A GAME AT TENNIS. 



34 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



Decision. Yes. The only restrictions are that he 
shall not volley the ball until it has crossed the 
net, and that he shall not touch the net or any of 
its supports. 

Case 2. A player is standing outside of the court 
and volleys the ball ; he then claims that the ball 
was out. 

Decision. The ball is in play until it touches the 
ground outside of the court. The player's position 
is of no consequence whatever. 

Case 3. A player, standing outside of the court, 
catches the ball, and claims that it was certainly 
going out. Who wins the stroke } 

Decision. His adversary. It is a very common 
thing for a player to stop a ball in this way, and 
score the point, but it is by courtesy only that he is 
allowed to do so. He loses the stroke if his oppo- 
nent claims it. 

Case 4. The service is delivered before the striker- 
out is ready. He tries to return it and fails. Is he 
entitled to have it played over .' 

Decision. No. If he attempts to return the ser- 
vice, he is deemed ready. 

Case 5. A ball having been played over the net 
bounces back into the court from which it came. 
The player reaches over the net and plays it before 
it falls. Has he a right to do so .' 

Decision. Yes, provided he does not touch the 



net. He has a right to play the ball at any time 
from the moment it crosses the net into his court, 
until it touches the ground a second time. 

Case 6. A ball is played into the net ; the net 
player on the other side, thinking that the ball is 
coming over, strikes at it and hits the net. Who 
loses the stroke ? 

Decision. It is simply a question of which hap- 
pened first. If the player touched the net while the 
ball was still in play, he loses the stroke. Hitting 
the net after the ball is dead can make no differ- 
ence. 

Case 7. A player is struck by the ball served be- 
fore it has touched the ground, he being outside of 
the service court. How does it count ? 

Decision. The player struck loses the point. The 
service is presumably good until it strikes in the 
wrong court. A player cannot take the decision 
upon himself by stopping the ball. If it is going to 
be a fault he has only to get out of the way. 

Case 8. A by-stander gets in the way of a player ; 
the latter attempts to return the ball and fails. Has 
he a right to have the hand played again .' 

Decision. Not if he attempted to return the ball. 
But if he makes no such attempt, and, in the um- 
pire's opinion, the bystander was distinctly in the 
way, he shall then have a right to have the hand 
played over. 




CROQUET. 



35 



CROQUET. 



Perhaps not even lawn tennis is more popular 
than croquet as an out-door game for boys and girls 
or for men and women — for either sex by itself or 
for the two playing together. It is a less active 
game, requiring not nearly as much exertion as any 
of those hitherto mentioned, and for this reason it 
can be enjoyed by those who have less endurance 
than the followers of ball or tennis require. While 
it is easily understood and quickly learned, real pro- 
ficiency in it needs a practised and skilled hand, a 
sure eye and cool and clear judgment. Properly 
played it is one of the most scientific of all amuse- 
ments. 

Two, four, six or eight persons can take part in a 
game of croquet — or even an odd number (from 
three to seven), though the latter would rnake un- 
equally divided side*. One of the smaller numbers 
is best, however, as six or eight cause a game to be 
tedious and slow. Each player is provided with a 
ball and mallet marked alike with some distinctive 
color, blue, black, white and red being those gen- 
erally used in two- or four-handed games. The balls 
are made either of wood, celluloid or solid rubber 
(the last now being preferred by most skilled play- 
ers) and their regulation size is three and a half 
inches in diaraeter. The mallets can be of any 
weight and size desired. The handles are of hard 
wood and range in length from eight to thirty-two 
inches, with cylindrical heads of boxwood or ama- 
ranth which sometimes have hard rubber ends 
screwed on. Instead of being cylindrical the heads 
occasionally are cubical. Formerly all players used 
the long handled mallets, but now experts in the 
game usually choose the shorter ones. The strik- 
ing end of the head of the mallet is always flat. 

In addition to balls and mallets, two stakes and 
nine wickets are required for the game. The former 
(made of wood) can be of any length 
whatever, and are driven into the 
ground seventy feet apart, though a 
shorter distance will suffice when the 




ones can be obtained for younger players. They 
are made of iron or steel, bent into a u-shape like 




tract available is limited, or the players 
are inexperienced. Wickets made for 
clubs are not over four inches in width 
and stand from eight to ten inches 
above the ground, but larger (especially wider) 



an arch. The first wicket is placed seven feet in 
front of the starting stake ; the second seven feet 
in front of the first ; the third fourteen feet to the 
right (and one foot in advance) of the second ; the 
fourth on a line with the first and second and 
twenty-one feet in advance of the second ; the fifth 
in a line with the third and in the same relative 
position to the turning (second) stake that the 
third is to the starting stake ; the sixth and seventh 
fourteen and seven feet respectively from the turn- 
ing stake ; the eighth and ninth in similar positions 
to the third and fifth, but on the opposite (left) side 
of the field. There will thus be five wickets in line 
between the stakes and four wing wickets. (These 
measurements are given for a full-sized field where 
the stakes are seventy feet apart and will need to 
be proportionally reduced when a smaller ground is 
used.) 

Should the contest be between four or more 
players each has a single ball ; should it be between 
two each takes a couple of balls, playing with each 
one alternately. The object of the game is to drive 
the balls (by hitting them with the mallets) through 
the wickets in regular order to the turning stake 

and after touching that (with the 
gg ip balls) to drive them similarly back 

to the starting stake. Which- 
ever side first does this, bringing all of its balls 
home before the other, wins the game. A player 
can only strike his own ball with his mallet, and he 
must not touch it with anything else (except to 
place it in position under certam circumstances to 



36 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



be noted in their proper place), but he can cause 
his own ball to strike other balls and in the doing 
of this is the science of croquet, as he can thus 
greatly assist his partner (or himself if he is using 
two balls) and bother his opponents. 

Whoever is to open the game (chance as usual 
deciding which that shall be) places his ball on the 
ground half way between the starting-stake and the 
first wicket. He then strikes it (once only) with 
his mallet, endeavoring to send it through that wick- 
et. If he succeeds, he can strike it again, trying to 
send it through the second wicket. If he is again 
successful, he strikes it once more, this time playing 
for the third wicket off at the right-hand side of 
the field. Whenever he makes a wicket he is en- 
titled toanother shot, provided his ball goes through 
in the right direction, that is from the side nearest 
the starting-stake. (After reaching and touching 
the turning-stake, the balls must pass under the 
arches from the side nearest that stake.) The or- 
der in which the wickets must be passed through is 
(i) the one next the starting-stake, (2) the one in 
front of that, (3) the nearest one on the right-hand 
side, (4) the centre one, (5) the distant right-hand 
one, (6) the second one from the turning-stake, (7) 
the one next to that stake. Then the turning-stake 
must be touched and after that the order is (8) the 
wicket nearest the turning-stake, (9) the second 
one from that stake, (10) the distant left-hand one 
(as looked at from the place of starting), (11) the 
centre one, (12) the near left-hand one, (13) the 
second from the home stake and (14) the first wick- 
et again. Each ball on a side must also touch the 
home-stake after making all the wickets to secure 
the game. It will be seen that all the wickets have 
to be made twice, with the exception of the four 
wing ones. Including the two stakes that must be 
touched, every ball has virtually sixteen points to 
make. A wicket made out of its regular order or 
from its wrong side does not count. 

It is very likely that the first player will miss on 
the third wicket, as that is a difficult shot to make 
when there are no other balls in the field on which 
he can play and so assist himself. But whether it 
is that wicket he fails to make, or the next one, or 
the first of all, he must leave his ball on the field 
exactly where it stopped after his miss. His oppo- 
nent then has a turn and places his ball on the 
ground where the first had been. He can not only 
play for the wickets but he can also play for his oppo- 
nent's ball. Should he hit it he makes what is called 
a " roquet," and he is then entitled to a " croquet.'\ 
This consists in placing his own ball (which he can 



touch with his hands for this purpose) in contact 
with the one roqueted (as soon as the latter stops 
rolling after being hit), and on whichever side of it 
he chooses, and then striking his own ball with his 
mallet, so as to move both of them, either in the 
same or in different directions according as they 
were placed and as the blow was struck. This is 
sometimes termed a " loose croquet " or a " ro- 
quet-croquet " to distinguish it from what is known 
as a " tight croquet,' or striking the ball when the 
player's foot is pressing it down. In this case the 
impulse from the blow of the mallet is communi- 
cated to the roqueted ball and the latter moves, 
while the ball actually struck remains still. The 
loose croquet is now oftener employed than the 
tight croquet, and in some associations the latter is 
no longer allowed. Each player can roquet and 
croquet every other ball in the field once (and only 
once) after every point (wicket or turning-stake) he 
makes. But of course this does not absolve him 
from making any of the wickets, it only enables him 
to get an opponent out of the way or to advance 
his own ball or that of his partner. After roqueting 
a ball the player is entitled to another shot, the 
same as if he had advanced a point. A ball ro- 
queted or croqueted through the wicket for which 
it is in play {i. <?., the wicket it ought next to pass) 
makes that wicket whether it be accidentally done 
by an opponent or purposely done by a partner. 
This, in fact, is the way that partners most help 
each other, and one of the secrets of good play in 
croquet is not permitting one ball of a side to stay 
too far behind the others ; it is often better for the 
player who is ahead to use his turn at times in help- 
ing forward laggards than to further advance him- 
self. 

When the second player has got on as far as he 
can and misses, the partner of the first brings out 
his ball as his predecessors did ; or, if the game is 
between only two, then the first starts his second 
ball. There are already two balls in the field for 
him to play on as well as the wickets and hence he 
has a better chance of making points than the 
others had had. Of course the player of the fourth 
ball when his turn comes has a still better opportu- 
nity at his start than had any of the others, but after 
that (in a two or four-handed game) each will have 
whatever aid he can obtain from three balls. 

After a ball has make the circuit of all the wick- 
ets, but has not yet touched the home-stake, it be- 
comes a " rover," and its duty then should be to 
assist its partners until they all likewise are rovers, 
when one of them can first put the others " out " 



Jl 



CROQUET. 



37 



by causing them to strike the winning-stake and 
then similarly go out itself. This is better than for 
each to go out as it becomes a rover in its turn, as 
the latter course would not only deprive players of 
the assistance of their roving partners and remove 
a hindrance that might be offered to the enemy, but 
it would also be needlessly giving the enemy a fur- 
ther advantage by leaving them a greater number 
of balls in the field with which to keep their oppo- 
nents away from the home-stake and help one 
another on. As the turns of some of their balls in 
that case would immediately follow each other, they 
could play into one another's hands and so perhaps 
advance themselves more quickly than if an oppos- 
ing ball came in between. As soon as a rover 
touches the winning-stake (whether made to do so 
by friend or enemy) the ball is out and can take no 
further part in the game, and its turn of course is 
lost to its side. Sometimes it is good play to get 
rid of a troublesome opposing rover by thus sending 
him to the stake. 

Clips, which may be made of patent clothes-pins, 
colored (on one side only) to match the balls and 
mallets, are very useful in indicating the wicket any 
ball is played for. They prevent mistakes and save 
confusion. As each arch is passed by a given ball 
the corresponding clip is taken from it and placed 
on the wicket next in order, its colored side show- 
ing from which direction the ball is bound. 

Sometimes, instead of the usual style, a cage 
wicket is substituted in the centre of the field. It 
is made by placing two ordinary arches eighteen 
inches apart and at right angles to the others. 

When a player on a single shot roquets two or 
more balls he can croquet the first one only. If he 
roquets a ball and then (on the same shot) makes a 
point, he must disregard the point and croquet the 
ball. But if he made the point and afterwards his 
ball touched another ball he can both count the 
point and croquet the roqueted ball. He does not, 
however, get another extra shot by doing so, or by 
making two points on a single stroke ; he only has 
the one shot after making two wickets (or after 
making a wicket and a roquet) that he would have 
had after making one wicket. In other words a 
ball has but the same privileges on gaining two 
points that it has on gaining one. To make a 
wicket the ball must pass entirely through it, so 
that a straight edge laid against the wire (on the 



side through which the ball passed) will not touch 
the ball. 

As will be readily seen success in croquet depends 
in the first place upon sureness of aim so as to be 
able to send the ball in just the direction desired, 
whether it be for the purpose of making a point, of 
roqueting another ball, or of gaining a coveted 
position. In the second place it depends upon 
accurately measuring the force of blow needed to 
send the ball the precise distance wanted, so that it 




THE SIX-HOOP SETTING. 

will neither fall short of the proper spot nor on the 
other hand overshoot it. And in the next place it 
depends upon a knowledge of the different effects 
produced on croqueted balls by varying their posi- 
tions and the character of the stroke of the mallet. 
No satisfactory description of these effects can be 
written ; knowledge of them mast be acquired by- 
practice. 



38 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



GOLF. 



Golf is an ancient Scottish game which of late 
years has become very popular in many English- 
speaking countries. It requires, perhaps, a greater 
space of ground to play it on than any other amuse- 
ment, and possibly occupies more time in the play- 
ing than most other out-door sports, excepting al- 
ways cricket ; but it is a healthy active game, exer- 
cising all the muscles of the body and fully engaging 
the attention of the mind, so that as great a bene- 
fit can be derived from it as from any of the many 
forms of open-air recreation. 




POSITION FOR THE DRIVE. 

Either two or four persons usually take part in a 
match. A larger number may play and often do, 
but the single or double (" foursome ") game is the 
better one, especially for beginners. The length 
of the course should be at least three miles and one 
five miles long is better — still a shorter one will suf- 
fice if no suitable long one can be obtained. Of 
course such an extent of territory cannot be laid out 
in the careful way a base-ball ground, a cricket field 
or a tennis court is prepared — nor is any attempt 
ever made to do so. A region is selected where the 
natural conditions are already fairly favorable, and 



the preparations are then confined to the starting- 
place and to certain points alongthe course where the 
" holes " are to be made — -these holes being the great 
and distinguishing feature of the game. If feasible 
the course should describe more or less of a circle like 
a race-track, as then returning players would not 
interfere with outgoing ones, but if this is not 
possible a straight course will answer the purpose, 
and players after going from one end to the other 
can then work their way back from the further end 
home. The course has no designated width, as the 
further description of the game will show that to be 
unnecessary. 

As to the nature of the ground desirable for a 
golf course that of an undulating character is by far 
the best. A wooded mountainous tract would 
make play impossible ; a dead level would take all in- 
terest from the game. But a grassy country with fre- 
quent risings and depressions, an occasional sand- 
bank, small streams, and a little underbrush once in a 
while gives the greatest sport by presenting difficul- 
ties (" hazards " as they are here called) to be over- 
come, and the conquest of such difficulties is the life 
of the sport and is what attracts its worshippers. 

Along the course at distances varying from one 
hundred to five hundred yards (according to the 
length of the course) there should be made, for the 
ordinary regular game, eighteen holes. If, however, 
the course must be limited in length and cannot be 
full size, it is better to have a smaller number of 
holes (and to go around the course twice) than tO 
place the holes too near one another. The distance 
between the holes should be about the same but need 
not be exactly uniform, as it is more important to 
have them at suitable spots than at a specified num- 
ber of feet apart. A piece of clear and level green- 
sward about twenty yards square offers the most fa- 
vorable location. At the centre of this greensward 
a circular hole should be dug with a diameter and 
depth each of four and a half inches, and it should 
be lined with an iron tube to prevent its sides from 
caving in, etc. The turf around the hole should be 
thoroughly rolled and the grass cut short so that 
the whole tract of twenty yards becomes almost as 
smooth as a billiard table. These turf tracts around 
the holes are known as " putting-greens " and 
should always be kept in perfect order. 

In each of the holes is placed a rod of iron, or 



GOLF. 



39 



wood bearing a flag as a guide, indicating from a 
distance the place wliere the hole exists. Whether 
the course be undulating or flat, the necessity for 
such an indication is apparent. But sometimes the 
surface of the country may be so uneven that it is 
impossible to see from flag to flag so placed. In 
that case it is necessary to employ besides what are 
called guiding flags. These are mounted on staves 
to whatever height may be required, and are placed 
at certain convenient places to show in what direc- 
tion the hole lies. On arriving at the putting-green, 
and while playing thereon, the small flag is removed 
from the hole, until the hole is scored, when the 
flag is again replaced for the' guidance of the on- 
coming players. These flags, -too, vary in color, 
but only to the following extent. As far as the 
ninth hole going out, the flags should be white, 
and for all holes coming in, the flags should be red. 
On some greens, however, this order of things is 
reversed . 

Near to each putting-green another important 
spot must be chosen as a starting-point from hole 
to hole. This is called the teeing-ground, which 
should be tolerably level, or inclined in the slight- 
est degree. This ground is indicated by paint-marks 
on the turf. The starting-point at the beginning of 
the game is called the tee. Within the limits of 
the paint-marks the ball must be placed, or as it 
is called "teed." To tee a ball for driving, it is 
usual to place it on some small eminence on the 
surface of the turf. Some players put it directly 
on the ground ; others on a few blades of stiff grass ; 
but the more common practice is to mould a minute 
hillock with a pinch of damp sand on which the ball 
can lightly rest. When the ball is driven from the 
teeing-ground it cannot be touched again by the 
hands (excepting under certain conditions) until 
the next hole has been scored or given up. 

So much for the course on which the game is 
played ; now for the game itself. 

Each player, if there are but two, provides him- 
self with a small light ball. If more than two are in 
the match then each pair of players (partners) has a 
ball. Each player has also a set of clubs which will 
be described further on. These clubs are used in 
striking the ball, and they vary in style and number 
to suit the fancy of each player. ' In a " foursome " 
(four-handed) game the two partners strike their 
ball alternately. In a single (two-handed) match 
each man strikes or touches only his own ball. 

Chance, as usual, having decided the order of play, 
the man having the lead places his ball (which he can 
touch with his hands for this purpose) on the tee 



at the starting-ground and drives it with one of his 
clubs in the direction of the first hole. As that hole 
on a full-sized course is about five hundred yards 
distant, and on any course should be at least one 
hundred yards away, he naturally will not reach it 
on a single stroke. Leaving the ball of the first 
player where it landed, his opponent (or either one 
of his opponents if it is a " foursome " match) puts 
his ball on the tee and in turn gives it a drive towards 
the same hole. Of course he cannot reach that 
hole on his first blow any more than could his pred- 
ecessor. If, however, he does not send his ball as 
far as the first ball went, he (or his partner if he has 




BEGINNING THE HIGH LOFTING STROKE. 

one) must strike it again and continue striking it 
until it passes the first ball — keeping careful record 
of the number of blows struck. As soon as the first 
ball is passed its owner (or his partner in a four- 
handed game) strikes it again towards the hole and 
the stroke is repeated if the first attempt did not 
place it ahead of the point where the second ball 
rested. And so the game is continued, each ball in 
succession being hit a sufficient number of times to 
drive it ahead of its opponent, partners (in four- 
some matches) invariably alternating in the strokes, 
until the balls have landed in the first hole. The 
player or side which gained the hole with th.e fewer 
number of strokes wins the first point in the match. 



40 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



Should both sides make the hole on an even num- 
ber of strokes each is credited with half a point. 

The start from the first hole is made by the win- 
ner of that point and he places his ball on the ad- 
jacent teeing-ground and gives it a drive towards 
the next hole. He is followed as in the first in- 
stance by his opponent and the contest for the sec- 
ond hole is similar in every respect to the preced- 
ing one. Each hole as it is made gives a point to 
the side accomplishing it with the smallest number 
of blows, and when the round of eighteen holes has 
been completed the one credited with the most 
points has won the match. 







AT THE TOP OF THE SWING. 

Instead of " hole play," as the foregoing method 
of counting is called, matches are sometimes de- 
cided by what is termed " score play," in which the 
number of strokes required to make the entire 
eighteen holes is reckoned together and the one 
whose total score is lightest is pronounced the win 
ner of the game. By this method of counting a 
player manifestly might win a majority of the holes 
and yet lose the match ; as for instance he might 
gain ten holes on a score in each case of (say) four 
to five ; and lose the other eight on a score of (say) 
seven to five. His total number of strokes in this 
example would be ninety-six against ninety for his 
adversary, although he has ten holes to his oppo- 
nent's eight. Score-play is to the advantage of the 
skilled golfer ; while hole-play is better for the in- 



experienced one, as it prevents his becomiing too 
easily discouraged by ill-success at the start. In 
medal contests score-play is nearly always adopted. 

All of this sounds very simple, and the principles 
of the game are easily enough learned to permit a 
beginner's getting plenty of amusement from golf 
without much preliminary instruction. But skill in 
it is quite another thing and requires fully as much 
practice as in any other sport. To strike a ball on 
the teeing-ground so as to send it the greatest 
possible distance and in just the right direction ; to 
get it out of a sand-bank ("bunker") in the fewest 
number of strokes ; to successfully hole it when on 
the putting-green with a single blow — a mastery of 
these and of m'any another point in the game does 
not come " by nature " but only by hard, constant 
and careful work. But with persistence they all 
can be acquired and reasonable expertness obtained 
by any one who will give time and attention to the 
necessary practice. Fortunately a player can be as 
deliberate in his strokes as he chooses and so culti- 
vate the habit of carefulness as he learns the game. 

Besides handling the ball for teeing it may be 
also similarly touched under the following condi- 
tions : when the two balls lie within six inches 
of each other the one nearer the hole to which the 
parties are playing should be lifted up till the other 
is played, then placed as nearly as possible in its 
original position ; if a ball lie in water its owner can 
take it out, change it (i.e. substitute another for it) 
if he pleases, drop it behind the hazard and then 
play it, but an extra stroke is marked against him 
if he does this ; a ball stuck fast in wet ground or 
sand may be taken out and replaced loosely in the 
hole it has made ; a ball falling on the personal 
property {e.g. clothing) of the owner or occupant of 
the land over which the golf course extends can be 
lifted and dropped behind the article without 
penalty, provided the property would be injured if 
the ball were struck where it lay; a broken or 
cracked ball may be replaced by a sound one, and a 
lost one by another one (in the latter case the hole 
is counted against the loser ; the ball is considered 
lost if not found in a ten minutes' search). Before 
striking his ball a player is entitled to remove any 
loose impediment within a club's length of his ball, 
unless the ball lies within a bunker, on sand, on a 
mole-hill, on a road, or other hazard, or touches a 
growing bush, etc. ; but everything on a putting- 
green can be removed excepting only an opponent's 
ball. Whatever completely covers or hides a ball 
can be sufficiently moved to permit a player seeing 
his ball before striking it. 



GOLF. 



41 



Formerly the balls used in golf consisted of feath- 
ers stuffed in a leathern case, but now they are usu- 
ally made of gutta-percha, the surface roughened 
and painted before put into play. They vary in 




OLD STYLES. 

weight and size according to the taste of the golfer, 
averaging, perhaps, a little under two ounces in 
weight and a trifle under two inches in diameter. 

As to the clubs used in striking the ball, the prin- 
cipal one is known as the " driver " and is employed 
for long distances and always in starting from the 
tee. Like all the other clubs it consists of a wood- 
en handle or shaft, terminating in a head of pecul- 
iar shape. The peculiarity of the shape of the 
driver is supposed to aid in keeping the ball, after 
being struck, lower than any other club. The 
"grassed driver" differs from the driver in having 
a face that will give the ball an elevation when 
struck ; and the " long spoon " is intended for use 
when a still greater elevation is desired. When a 
ball is lying in a small hollow the wooden " niblick " 
or the " brassey " comes into play as they have 
smaller heads than the ones previously mentioned. 
In approaching a putting-green which has a bunk- 
er, burn or other hazard before it the "lofting- 
iron" is employed as it lifts a ball well without 
sending it too far. To extricate a ball from bunk- 
ers, cart-ruts, etc., the " iron niblick " is the best 
club. The usefulness of the "cleek" is shown on 
long approaches over hazardous ground and also in 
playing a ball out of long grass and sandy soil. 
And the " putter," as its name suggests, is intended 



for holeing the ball after it has reached the putting- 
green. These are but a few of the clubs which may 
be used, but they are sufficient for a learner to be- 
gin with. A complete list of all the clubs which 
have been employed in playing the game would 
comprise the following : 

The Driver, or Play Club. 

Grassed Driver. 

Long Spoon. 

Middle Spoon. 

Short Spoon. 

Balling Spoon. 

Niblick. 

Brassey. 

Bulger. 

Putter. 

Driving Putter. 

Iron Putter. 

Cleek. 

Driving Iron. 

Medium, or ordinary Iron. 

Lofting Iron. 

Niblick. 

President. 

Mashy. 



Wooden Clubs. - 



Iron Clubs. 




MODERN CLUBS. 



42 



OUT-DOOR SFOJiTS FOR IJOYS 



It is hardly necessary to say that no player would 
think of using all of these clubs. In Great Britain 
it is customary for each player to have an assistant 
(called a " caddy ") to carry his clubs. 

When more than four play a match the third 
couple (of partners) follows the second and must of 




AT THE END OF THE SWING. 

course continue striking their ball until it is placed 
ahead of the other two balls ; and similarly the 
fourth couple, if so many are playing, must in their 
turn keep at it till their ball is in the lead. But 
more than four players make a game tedious and 
confused. It is better for the golfers to organize 



separate matches, one set of players following the 
other over the course. This can easily be done as 
the course is so extensive, the only precaution 
needed being that the two sets of players keep at 
least one hole apart. 

Experienced players often give beginners odds of 
a stroke a hole, or one every other hole (called a 
" half "), or one every third hole (a " third "), etc., or 
even two or more strokes a hole. That is, so many 
strokes are deducted from the number actually 
made by the beginner in decidingthe winner of the 
successive points. Sometimes the odds are given 
in the form of so many strokes in the entire match, 
to be counted whenever the recipient of the odds 
chooses. This is called a " bisque " and is greatly 
to the advantage of the beginner as he can use 
them just when they will do him the most good. 
When odds of a " half " or a " third," etc., are given, 
no option is allowed as to their use : they must be 
taken at every second or third, etc., hole irrespec- 
tive of whether they are needed at just those times 
or not. 

In medal playing each golfer is paired with one 
opponent and each keeps a record on a card of the 
other's play (unless a marker accompanies every 
couple of contestants). When all have completed 
the round the cards are compared and the award 
made to the one who scored every hole with the 
smallest total number of strokes. If two should 
be tied then they must make the circuit again play- 
ing against each other. Medal contests, as already 
stated, are almost invariably decided by " score 
play " and not by " hole play." 



CURLING. 



43 



CURLING. 



Curling is the 
great winter sport 
of Scotland, and 
in principle great- 
ly resembles the 
game of quoits. It 
is played with 
" curling stones " 
on a field of 
smooth ice which 
should be about 
fifty yards in 
length and some 
ten yards wide. 
On this field of ice 
the lines of what 
is called " the 
rink " are laid out. 
A rink consists 
of a rectangular 
space forty-six yards long and four yards wide, near 
each end of which a circle is drawn having a radius 
of seven feet. The centre of each circle is termed 




left within the circle nearer to the " tee " than any 
stone of its opponents. In sliding the stone all the 
players stand at the opposite end of the rink from 
the " tee " played for and with both feet within a 
smaller circle (the radius of which is eighteen inches) 
drawn to the left (when facing the "tee" played 
for) of a line connecting "the tees." These circles 
should be four yards back of the "tees" and their 
circumferences should just touch the line passing 
through the " tees." (A left-handed player can have 
the circle at the right of the line.) The following 
diagram will best show how a rink should be drawn. 
The stones used in curling are circular blocks of 
Scotch granite, rounded on the sides, and having an 
iron bolt through the centre, on which is screwed 
the handle in such a way as to admit of the upper 
part of the stone being made the lower part by 
changing the position of the bolt. They are polished 
so as to glide over the ice easily, the under part of 
the stone being smoother than the upper, the latter 
being used for very glassy ice. The stones used by 
men weigh from thirty to fifty pounds, and measure 
thirty-six inches in circumference, that being the 





-g" 



DIAGRAM OF A CURLING RINK. 



the " tee " and the two centres must be just thirty- 
two yards apart. The object of the players of each 
party is to slide the curling stone within this circle 
as near the " tee " as possible. There are four play- 
ers on each side, making eight players to each rink, 
and each player plays two stones alternately with an 
opponent ; and if all the eight stones of one side are 
sent within the circle, and none of those of the oppo- 
site party, then the former score eight shots for the 
" end " — the end in question being equivalent to an 
inning in cricket or baseball. Should one of the 
stones of the opposite party, however, be within the 
circle, and also be the second stone nearest the 
" tee," then the party having the stone nearest the 
" tee," count one only, even though all the eight 
stones of their side are in the circle. In other 
words each side counts one point for every stone 



limit, though they may be made smaller. The 
heavier the stone the more polished its surface needs 
to be ; and the best quality of granite for the pur- 




44 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



pose is that which admits of the finest polish. In 
Canada some of the clubs use iron as the material 
instead of stone, as the severe cold at times makes 
the granite too brittle. These irons are heavier than 




the stones, as their surface is necessarily smoother, 
but they must not exceed seventy pounds in weight. 
Curling stones suitable for boys' clubs weigh from 
fifteen to twenty-five pounds. 

In addition to his two curling stones each player 
should also be provided with a broom to sweep the 
rink clear of obstructions, especially of the fine ice 
which the stones are apt to chop from its surface as 
they slide along. 

Supposing the rink to be in readiness for com- 
mencing a match, the players and captains — techni- 
cally called skips — -chosen, and their order of playing 
appointed. Side No. i, having won the toss, begins 
play by sending player A to " cast the first stone." 



StriTang 



X. 




The skip, having taken his position at the end, di- 
rects the player to " draw " in to a certain spot with- 
in the circle — that is, to slide his stone as close to 
the place pointed out as possible. Player A, of side 
No. 2, now takes his position, and the skip of his 
party, taking his stand at the end, directs A, No. 2, 



to strike his adversary's stone out of the circle, and in 
such a manner as to leave his own inside the circle ; 
as he fails to do this. A, No. i takes his place to play 
his second stone, and by the direction of the skip, 
tries to send it so as to rest on the line directly in front 
of his first stone lying within the circle, thereby 
" guarding " the " winner " from being struck out of 
the circle by the players to follow. The object of 
side No. 2 now is first to remove this guard, and 
having done that, to send the stone lying within the 
circle outside of it, leaving the stone striking it out 
within ; and then, if succeeding in this, to guard its 
own stone left in the circle. After the first player 
(A), from each side has cast his two stones, another 
couple of opponents (B) step forward and alter- 
nately try to dislodge the stones of their respective 
adversaries (A), and place their own closer to the 




"tee" than the others. So it continues, a third 
couple (C) following the two B's and being in turn 
succeeded by the last couple (D). 

It will be readily seen that in the course of a 
game like this an ample field is afforded for a dis- 
play of a great deal of strategic skill, and as a mat- 
ter of course the captain of each side has his hands 
full of business in directing his players how to send 
their stones to the circle and outmanoeuvring his 
adversary. 

The side which makes the greater number of 
points in either a given time or in a certain number of 
shots (to be agreed upon in advance) wins the 
match. Both sides, of course, play for the same 
" tee " until all eight have each cast their two 
stones ; then they all reverse and play for the oppo- 
site end. 



POLO. 



45 



POLO. 



The game of polo is simply " hockey" played 
while on horseback. It is, of course, a sport only 
available for wealthy people, as the ponies or " mus- 
tangs" trained for the game are expensive animals, 
and each player requires to have two at command, 
not only to relieve one animal from over-fatigue in 
a match, but also in case accidents happen — and 



double that size. In the middle of it, at each of 
the two ends, will be placed the goals, as at foot- 
ball; and it is, of course, the object of each side 
to drive the ball between the posts marking the 
adversary's goal. 

The great attraction of polo, which has made it 
popular among those who can afford to play it, is 




POLO. 



accidents do happen in it frequently, for it is a 
rather dangerous amusement. The ground re- 
quired for this sport must be larger in size than a 
field which would do for " hockey " ; and it should 
be of level turf, without swampy places or inter- 
secting roads. A space of 120 yards in length and 
70 in width is the smallest that should be used ; 
and it is far better if a ground can be secured of 



to be found in the horsemanship which is required 
of the players, as well as in the difficulty met with 
in hitting the ball. The stroke is made with a 
long club like a mallet, whereas in hockey it is 
hooked and projects only on one side, so that the 
ball may be either driven forcibly forward or partly 
drawn and partly pushed along the ground. Polo 
is, in short, almost diametrically opposite in its 



46 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



system to hockey, in which dribbling is the most 
important part of the game, and proficiency in 
keeping with the ball and following it all over the 
field is the chief qualification of a first-rate player. 
There are two strokes common in polo — the for- 
ward and the back-handed, and the latter is ex- 
tremely useful when the ball is flying towards the 
goal, and a defender thereof, galloping after it, 
overtakes it in time, and by one clever back-hit 
sends it away far behind his back towards his 
friends. The rules of polo do not usually include 
any restrictions as to off-side, and thus a skilful 
player will so place his ball as to elude the enemy, 
and find its way toward one of his own side. There 
are generally eight players on each side ; and they 



should be distinguished by a contrast of color in 
their costume, as it would be otherwise impossible 
in the heat of action to know friend from foe. 

As for the ponies used in polo, the chief requi- 
sites are that they should be swift, both.in a straight- 
forward course and at the turn, afraid of nothing, 
and obedient to the slightest movement of the 
rider. These, it may be thought, are rather heavy 
demands to make ; and, in effect, a good polo pony 
ought to be worth a handsome price — a much more 
handsome one than he generally fetches in the 
market. For an animal which is really good for 
polo must be good for almost everything else, and 
more especially for teaching a person how to ride, 
and how to become in all respects a good horseman. 



BADMINTON. 



Of all games of skill badminton is perhaps the 
least-known by the public at large. It has come to 
us from India, where for more than a dozen years 
it has been a favorite pastime of the English 
officers, and is now fast gaining a strong foothold 
in America. Though it may be played within the 
house its proper place is out of doors, where 
there is more room for vigorous action than within 
a parlor or hall. It calls for nearly as much agility 
and quickness as tennis, and, although the exercise 
required is not violent, the enjoyment experienced 
by the players in a closely contested game is just as 
keen as in the more widely-known sister game. 
For an indifferent player, badminton is much the 
better form of sport, and the girls and women who go 
in for it are more enthusiastic in its support than 
the most confirmed players of tennis. 

The game is played in a court laid out somewhat 
similarly to a (single) lawn tennis court. Its dimen- 
sions must depend, of course, upon the space avail- 
able, but twenty-eight feet by twenty feet makes a 
fair average sized one. The net is from two feet to 
two feet six inches in breadth and, instead of being 
set upon the ground or floor, is on long poles, and 
is hung at a distance of from five feet six inches to 
six feet from the surface of the court. Instead of 
balls, shuttlecocks, or " birds," as they are techni- 
cally called, are used. The racquets or bats with 
which they are knocked about are generally of a 
lighter weight and somewhat smaller than the 



ordinary tennis racquet, although the tennis racquet 
can be and is often used. For in-door playing a 
"bird" weighing half an ounce is used, but out-doors, 
on account of the wind, one weighing an ounce and 
three-quarters, loaded and covered with rubber, to 
prevent injury from moisture, is preferable. 

From one to four persons play on a side, and the 
shuttlecock or " bird " must in all instances be re- 
turned on a " volley " or before it touches the court 
surface. The " birds " are served and returned in 
the same manner as in lawn tennis., except that 
if the shuttlecock falls to the court surface it is 
counted a miss to the player who fails to return it 
and to his side. The service is from the outer cor- 
ners of the service courts, the player standing with 
both feet within a section of a circle drawn two 
feet and six inches from the corner. The divisions 
of the courts are only observed on the serve, and 
the players can stand where they please on their 
own sides after it. The shuttlecock must be served 
so that it falls within the lines of the service court 
as in tennis, and clear of the net-ropes and posts. 
If the net is touched in the service and the " bird " 
fails over, the stroke is called a " let" and does not 
count against the player. 

In play, however, the touching of the net by the 
shuttlecock when it goes over counts as a good 
stroke. If the net is touched by the racquets of the 
players, or if they reach over the net with their rac- 
quets, the stroke counts against them. Two " faults" 



ARCHERY. 



47 



put " hand out," and in all cases " birds " falling over the net, it is always noticed if the " bird " 

upon boundary lines are regarded as "faults," both is struck before it has crossed the net and merely 

in service and in play. Fifteen points constitute been followed over by the racquet of the player, 

the game. No overhand stroke is allowed on the In this case it is a good stroke, but if the racquet 

service. In judging whether a player has reached itself touches the net the play is counted a miss. 



ARCHERY. 




The great drawback to 
archery is apt to be the 
expense attending it, as 
a good bow with suitable 
arrows cannot be bought 
for a trifle, to say nothing 
of the other fittings consid- 
ered desirable and which 
add to the comfort and 
convenience of the marks- 
man. But after the first 
outlay is made and one is 
supplied with what is 
needful, future expenses 
can be made very small 
and the archer can get a 
great deal of healthful amusement, either by him- 
self or in company with others, at little additional 
cost unless, indeed, he belongs to a high-priced 
club, in which case he may find his pleasure by no 
means cheaply purchased. 

Standing in front of a circular target thirty yards 
distant, and watching the movements of a prac- 
tised archer as he grasps his bow, places an ar- 
row in position and then with comparative ease 
sends it flying into the centre of the "gold," the 
whole movement with its final result looks so sim- 
ple, so easy of attainment, that a casual observer 
would be apt to think the sport rather too much of 
boy's play for men to engage in. But when the 
novice tries his hand at this-apparently simple act, 
and realizes, by practical experiment, what diffi- 
culties beset him and what a number of things he 
has to learn to do before he himself can hit any 
part of the target at all, his respect for the sport is 
very apt to increase in the ratio of the obstacles he 
meets with in his test of its merits. 

To aim with a bow is very different from aiming 
with a gun or a rifle. In the one case you shoulder 
your rifle, and running your Ime of sight along the 



barrel, you literally take deliberate aim. In doing 
this, the steadier your nerve the truer your aim ; 
but "the mind intent" has little, comparatively, to,- 
do with it. It is a combination of keen sight, 
steady nerve and straight aim. But with the bow 
it is different. Here the mental work to be done 
is everything. In archery the word aim, in the 
familiar sense of the word as applied to a rifle, is 
inapplicable. Experience teaches the practised 
archer to aim with his mind, as it were. You in- 
tuitively feel that you have your bow in the right 
position to send the arrow flying to the centre of 
the target. Moreover, you look solely at the 
"gold" centre of the target, in shooting with a 
bow, and never at your bow or the arrow, as it lies 
on your hand with bow arched ready for the final 
"loose." It is this feeling your aim, instead of 
seeing it, that is a peculiarity of the art of arch- 
ery. This comes 
only by the famil- 
iarity of continu- 
ous practice. 

To hold the bow 
firmly with the left 
hand, as if it were 
in a vise, is the 
first letter of the 
archer's alphabet. 
The second is to 
bend the bow to 
the arrow's head 
properly, and the 
third, to "loose" 
the cord from the 
finger of the right 
hand at the right moment. This is the A B C of 
archery. Then comes the placing of the arrow in 
position ; seeing that it is " nocked " in the right 
place on the string; that the "cock-feather" is up- 
permost, and that the tips of the fingers are proper- 




48 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



ly on the string, etc. When the familiarity of con- 
stant practice has made the proper form for all these 
details a regular habit, then one will be prepared for 
the mental study of the situation, and then comes 
"the headwork of archery," so to speak; and just 
as you are able to excel in this will you become a 
skilful archer. 

Another important matter is the position of the 
body when drawing the bow and shooting the 
arrow. One should not directly face the target as 
is done when firing a rifle, but should stand with 
the side of the body toward the target, the face 
turned so as to look over the left shoulder. 



especially those which are brought into action in 
pulling the bow-string back as far as the length of 
the arrow admits of. At first it will feel like a very 
constrained position and be painful; but as the 
arm becomes trained to its new work all that dis- 
appears. To girls who are accustomed to weak 
muscles of the chest and arms from their unem- 
ployment this new exercise may come hard ; 
but its advantage repays all that they may 
temporarily suffer from. When one has learned 
to " pull the string " correctly, he will have to 
attend to the comparatively simple matter of 
letting the cord slip from his fingers. Any one 




QUIVER. 



BELT. 



BRACE. 



GLOVE. 



To Stand firm and steady is the object, so as to 
avoid any varying of the steady position of the left 
arm when it is extended. At first the novice will 
naturally find this position an awkward one, but 
practice will render it familiar. The left arm, too, 
when extended and when first called upon to re- 
sist the pull of the right arm in bending the bow, 
will be apt to shake and be unsteady. To avoid 
this one should practise holding out at arm's 
length a weight equalling that of the bow. Any 
exercise, too, which will strengthen the muscles of 
the wrist of the left arm will be found advan- 
tageous. This arm is the lever on which one de- 
pends for a correct delivery of the arrow. As it is 
raised or lowered so will the arrow fly high or low. 
Also if the arm is bent the power to draw the bow 
to the arrow's head is lessened. All these little de- 
tails have to be borne in mind in practice. Not 
one of them must be forgotten. By this means 
only can a regular habit — a correct form — be at- 
tained. Then comes the matter of the using of the 
right arm. Here, too, new muscles come into play. 



practising with a bow, unless the cuticle of his 
fingers is as thick as that of a day laborer, will have 
to wear leather finger-tips, and the face of these 
should be sufficiently soft and pliant to let the cord 
glide from them easily. In holding the cord, too, 
there is but one right way, and that is to let the 
end of the arrow, as it lies on the cord, be between 
the first and second fingers, the tips of those fingers 
being held on the cord. To let go the cord at the 
right time is an important point, a good " loose " be- 
ing essential in aiding the correct flight of the arrow. 
Stand steady, hold the left arm out straight and 
firm, look at the " gold " as you bend the bow, and 
the moment the eye is on the centre of the 
target and the bow is bent to the arrow's head, 
loosen the hold on the cord with a quick, easy 
motion. As the arrow leaves the bow, if all the 
movements have been correct and in harmony, 
with the thought in your mind that the arrow 
ought to go right to the gold, ten to one but it will 
go there, and just as often as the thought and 
motion harmoniously correspond. 



FENCING. 



49 



FENCING. 




MASK. 



Though the practice of 
duelling has happily gone 
out of fashion all over the 
civilized world, the art of 
fencing, originated by it, 
is not by any means to be 
despised as a thing whose 
usefulness passed away 
with the barbarous custom 
which gave it birth. For a 
• knowledge of fencing is not 
only still of service to the 
soldier, and even to the 
civilian in teaching him 
how to defend with the 
sword his life and the lives 
of others when in danger, but it is also of the greatest 
use in imparting confidence to the mmd, in giving 
grace to the bearing, in rendering the wrist more 
flexible and supple and in training the eye to see 
quickly and accurately. It is m every way a thor- 
oughly manly accomplishment and a most delightful 
and healthful exercise. 

First in importance in connection with it is the 
" foil," the modern instrument which takes the 
place of the more deadly sword once employed. If 
one can learn to handle the foil effectively he need 
not fear, should occasion arise, to use the sword — 
as the two are essentially alike in all respects save 
only point and edge. The blade of a foil should be 
thirty-three or thirty-four inches long, four-sided 
and tapering gradually toward a blunt point (if a 
point may ever be called blunt) which should be 
covered with a button to prevent any risk of acci- 
dents. The part of a blade (about one-third its 
length) nearer the hilt is called the ' forte " and the 
remainder the " foible." The hilt (or handle) is 
usually five inches long and is shaped so as to fit 
the hand. It should be covered with wood, and 
should end in a weighted ' pummel," slightly bent, 
so as to balance the foil and make it come up well 
in the hand. 

Next to the foil in relative importance comes the 
mask which covers the face to protect it from any 
possible mischance. It should be made of stout 
wire and should always be carefully inspected before 
use to see that none of the links are loose or falling 
and that the top bar across the front does not inter- 



fere with the sight. The fit of the mask is impor- 
tant as it is impossible to watch an adversary closely 
if the mask shifts about uneasily with every motion 
of the head. 

A slightly padded glove, flexible and close-fitting, 
is an essential in guarding the hand wielding the 
foil. The thumb, particularly, needs to be pro- 
tected as its tip is apt to be jarred and so the grasp " 
of the foil become impaired. A stiff jacket is of 
value in offering some resistance if a foil should 
happen to break. The jacket should have a high 
collar so that no part of the throat be exposed 
between it and the mask. The high collar also 
saves the fencer from thrusting his head forward to i 
protect his bare . 
throat which 
both spoils his 
attitude and 
subjects his mask 
to being constantly 
struck by his oppo- 
nent's foil, a jarring and 
disconcerting effect. Side 
pads, in addition to the jack- 
et, are also sometimes worn 
as a further safeguard to the 
body. 

The proper method of 
holding the "foil is to place 
the thumb on the upper part 
of the " grip " (the wooden 
covering of the hilt), which 
should be broader by about 
an eighth or a quarter of an 
inch than the sides, taking 
care not to keep the thumb 
too close to the hilt and 
bending it back so as to 
avoid getting the tip jarred 
in a harsh encounter of 
blades. Then let the fingers 
close on the grip, but so as 
in no case to trespass on the 
part appropriated by the thumb. All the play, in 
fencing, is restricted to the fingers and wrist, the 
arm acting a subordinate part. Therefore the 
right way of holding the foil, which develops the 
nervous strength of the fingers and gives free scope 




PRELIMINARY 
POSITION. 



5° 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



to the wrist, is essential ; and though it is painful 
to most persons to acquire, as at first it makes the 
fingers stiff and the thumb ache, these drawbacks 
must not be allowed to stand in the way. 
Of what are called " positions " in fencing the 




ON GUARD. 

first in order is known as " on guard." As a pre- 
liminary to this the foil should be taken in the right 
hand, with the finger-nails up, the point turned 
towards the ground, and the elbow in line with the 
hip ; the body should be erect, the left arm close to 
the side, its hand turned palm outwards, and the 
heels together, the right foot pointing straight to 
the front and the left foot to the left. The body 
should be turned as far as possible to the left, head 
and eyes to the front. Then the foil should be 
raised (pointing upwards) to the front to the full 
extent of the arm. 

As far as possible using only wrist and fingers, 
and turning the nails down so long only as to enable 
you to execute the curve, drop the point of the foil, 
and bring it round towards the body in a circular 
sweep, ending with the point on a level with, and 
directed towards, the mask of an imaginary oppo- 
nent ; the hand should be on a line with your left 
breast, and the elbow just clear of the right hip. 

While you are executing the curve, raise the left 
arm up until it is on a line with the shoulder, arch- 
ing the wrist so as to let the fingers droop forward 
unconstrainedly. Then, still keeping the body erect 
and firm, lower it by bending the knees ; advance 



the right foot in a straight line twice its own length, 
as nearly as may be ; and this will bring you into 
the position of "on guard." (Strictly speaking 
this is only one of the " guard " positions. But the 
others are only variations of it.) 

The next thing to learn is to move easily forwards 
or backwards, as occasion may require, without 
losing correctness of position and disarranging the 
balance. The " advance " is performed by advanc- 
ing the right foot a short, firm step, and following 
it up smartly by bringing up the left foot a like 
distance. The "retreat" is effected in a similar 
manner, by stepping back with the left foot first, 
and following it up by a like step with the right. 
The object in each case is to maintain, on the new 
ground to which you have advanced or retired, the 
same relative position as the one in which you were 
on the ground you have quitted. 

As the basis of every attack in fencing is the 
" thrust," the position now to be described, its exact 
performance is of the highest importance. It is, 
however, a very simple movement and is made by 
dropping the point, more or less, according as the 
spot you wish to threaten is higher or lower, and 
straightening the arm. The thrust serves in two 
capacities; the one as an end, when the opponent 
has come to close quarters and can be hit by 
straightening the arm without any forward move- 
ment of the body on your part, which is called the 




f 



LUNGE. 

" riposte ; " the other as a means, when it is an in- 
dispensable prelude to every attack on the move. 
The two rules to be borne in mind are that the 
arm must be absolutely straight and the point lower 
than the hand. 



FENCING. 



Having given the thrust with the full extent of 
the arm, shoot out the right foot about twice its 
own length, at the same time driving the body for- 
ward by straightening the left leg, and 
dropping the left arm smartly to the side 
with the palm of the hand outwards. This 
position or movement is the " lunge." The 
body should be kept well braced up while 
making the lunge, and the head be erect. 

Getting back to the position of guard 
after making a lunge is known as " recov- 
ery " and is executed by drawing back the 
right foot, bending the left knee, raising 
the left arm and bending the right, all as in the 
position of guard. 




mik 



ILtno 




Liiiei 



Linet 



JACKET SHOWING LINES. 

It should be borne in mind that all these posi- 
tions are relative, and the beginner must be on his 
guard against thinking that, because each has to be 
practised at first separately, it stands by itself, and 
has no connection with the others. A free, power- 
' ful lunge is a thing to be greatly desired ; 
but it takes very little to turn aside the 
point and carry it wide of the mark, in 
which case, unless you can pull yourself 
together, you would, in a contest, be at the 
mercy of your opponent. Similarly on the 
recovery, do not plant yourself heavily, but 
be ready, if need be, to dart forward again 
on the instant. 
Therefore, in practice, remember that 



PARRY OF QUARTE. 

each movement is one of a connected series, and 
while you strive to gain in pace and force, this 
must not be done at the expense of balance and 
control. 

For the purposes of defence and attack the sur- 
face of a fencing jacket is mapped out into four 
quarters, the upper being called " high lines " and 
the lower " low lines." These lines are again divi- 
ded into sides, the right or outside, and the left or 
inside, jn order to define as clearly as possible the 
precise area threatened by the various attacks and 
covered by the different parries. There are in all 
eight primary parries, two of which are told off to 
defend each of the four lines and bear the same 
names as the attacks to which they correspond. 
Thus attack and parry in the high lines on the 
right side are said to be made in sixte, if the hand 
is in supination (finger nails up), and in tierce, if 
the hand is in pronation (finger nails down). 

Parries should be made as far as possible with 
the wrist and fingers, and as little as possible with 
the arm. With few exceptions, they are made with 
a light, quick tap of the forte of one blade on the 
foible of the other ; and they are invariably made 
with one or other of the edges of the blade, and not 
with the flat sides. It must always be borne in 
mind that it does not require a heavy stroke to turn 




PARRY OF SEPTIME. 



52 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



aside even the most powerful lunge, and that harsh 
parries are the death cf good fencing, inasmuch as 
they rob it of all fineness and delicacy of touch, and 
involve an altogether disproportionate waste of 
time and space. Parries are classified as " simple," 




PARRY OF SIXTE. 

in which the opponent's blade is followed into the 
line of attack, on his change, and there warded off ; 
and " counter," in which the opponent's blade, as 
he is in the act of changing into another line, is, by 
describing a circle round it with the point, envel- 
oped and brought back into the line from which it 
started, and there deflected. 

Attacks should be made with the point below the 
hand and with an absolutely straight arm, and one 
should be careful always to cover well in the line in 
which he is attacking. The different forms of at- 
tack are divided into : 

I. Primary, initiated by oneself with the intention 
of scoring by pace, fraud or force, and which are 
therefore subdivided into — 

(i) Simple, made on the lunge, the object of which 
is by superior neatness and quickness to 
hit the opponent before he can parry, 
without any attempt to disguise the direc- 
tion of the attack. 

(2) Feints, the purpose of which is to in- 
duce your opponent, by some preliminary 
movement of the hand, to think that you 
are going to hit him in one particular line, 
so that on his offering a parry to protect 
that line, you may deceive it and be free to 
complete the attack by lunging in another 
line ; and — 

(3) Force, by which, finding your op- 
ponent covered, you attack his blade with 
sufficient vigor to turn it aside and make an open- 
ing for your point on the lunge ; or by which, on 
some movement of his blade in the direction of 
one line, you encircle it with yours and, carrying 



it off in an opposite line, urge your point home 
with strong opposition. 

2. Secondary, intended to out-manoeuvre or re- 
taliate upon attacks initiated by the opponent in 
one or other of their different stages, and therefore 

subdivided into — 

(i) Attacks on the preparation, to arrest 
his movements before he matures his 
plans. _J 

(2) Attacks on the development, prin- 
cipally " time " attacks, whereby, having 
anticipated in what line your opponent's 
attack will be delivered, you intercept his 
blade as he gives in his attack, and go to 
meet it by straightening your arm and de- 
livering in the point with a strong opposi- 
tion on the lunge or half lunge, according 
to the distance between you ; and — 

(3) Attacks on the completion, when 
the opponent has brought himself within thrusting 
range on his lunge. These are called " ripostes," 
and are made from the position of the parry, what- 
ever it may be, which has been used to stop the op- 
ponent's primary attack. As the point is delivered 
in while the opponent is extended on the lunge or 
in the act of recovering, they are, almost without 
exception, unaccompanied by any movement of the 
foot. 

Ripostes which are made after parrying a riposte 
are called "counter-ripostes." 

3. Decoy (or false) attacks, not made with the in- 
tention of hitting the opponent, but only to lure 
him on, say, to attack you in some line, in order 
that, when he does so, you may, for instance, dis- 
concert him by an emphatic parry, and lead up to 




PARRY OF OCTAVE. 



an effective return. These attacks are, therefore, 
not made on the lunge, as a slight movement of the 
foot (if any) is all that is needed. 
This is only a general classification of the many 



SKATING, 



53 



forms of attack known to swordsmen. A list and 
description of all the variations in the thrust and 
lunge — ^the "disengage," the "coupe" (or "cut- 
over"), the "one-two," the "doifble," the "graze," 
etc. — would be tedious to read and would only bur- 
den and confuse the mind. Enough has been said 
to show that fencing is by no means a simple art, 
and that to become skilled in it requires consider- 
able practice and patience. Coolness and quickness. 



care and precision are the qualities most needed if 
one would be an adept. But its exercise is not only 
beneficial to the body, it occupies the mind as well, 
for one cannot let his thoughts wander when facing 
a proficient antagonist. Like most other sports 
and amusements worthy of their name expertness 
cannot be acquired by books alone. A few lessons 
from a master of the foils is absolutely essential to 
understand their proper use. 



SKATING 



In acquiring a practical knowledge of any special 
art, there is nothing which will aid you so much as 
confidence in your ability to accomplish what you 
are about to undertake. Confidence is a great es- 
sential in learning to skate. In this respect it is 
like learning to swim. What the fear of sinking is 
to the young swimmer, so is the fear of falling to 
the young skater. Courage and nerve are essential 
qualifications for a skater. Fear of a fall is a strong 
barrier to progress in a practical knowledge of the 
art, and the nerve required to attempt some difficult 
feat or other, involving risks of a severe fall, is very 
necessary. . 

The first thing to be done after putting on a pair 
of good-fitting skates for the first time, is to learn 
to walk with them on the ice. After you have 
learned to preserve your equilibrium on the ice in 
this way, and you begin to have confidence, you then 
commence the next step in the art, and that is to 
learn to strike out. To attain the most rapid suc- 
cess in learning to skate you must advance by slow 
degrees. Attempting to do too much at one time 
is always a drawback to your progress. In the first 
place, you will find that the effort to balance your- 
self on the rather narrow edge of the runner of 
your skate brings into active and rather painful 
exercise comparatively unused muscles of the an- 
kles and legs. To go on testing the strength or 
endurance of these beyond a certain point of fa- 
tigue, is to retard rather than advance yourself in 
the art. The moment the muscles of your ankles 
or legs begin to feel the effects of the unwonted 
strain, give them a ten minutes' rest or so. In this 
way the muscles which are specially brought into 
play in skating will gradually but surely get trained 
into doing the work required of them. 



After learning to walk well on your skates, the 
next step to be made is to learn to strike out. In 
doing this you first learn to propel yourself on the 
ice on one foot while using the other to push your- 
self forward. When you can propel yourself on the 
ice tolerably well with first one foot and then the 
other, you enter upon the first plain forward move- 
ment of the regular skating programme, and begin 
to strike out in earnest. In accomplishing this 
second lesson in the rudiments of the art you will 
see that it is but an extension or variation of the 
movement of the first lesson — viz., that of propell- 
ing yourself with one foot. While in the first 
movement one skate is kept sliding on the ice 
while the other pushes it forward, in the second 
movement the right foot is sent sliding forward on 
a half circle while the left is temporarily lifted from 
the ice, leaving you balancing yourself for a moment 
on the right foot as you move forward, the left 
foot next becoming the balance foot while the right 
is lifted. 

As you progress by practice and gain confidence 
you must extend the length of the strokes, making 
them regular and with an easy motion, not forget- 
ting grace of movement in the very beginning of 
your practice. Of course in doing even this little in 
skating, falls are likely to be frequent, and their 
frequency is generally in proportion to the degree 
of confidence the skater possesses and the excita- 
bility of his temperament — the cool and collected '^ 
individual invariably preserving his balance on the 
ice the best. 

The first movements of the novice on skates are 
made on the inside edge of the skate runner ; but 
this is only peculiar to the ABC work of the art. 
The fundamental basis of all expert efforts on skates 



54 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



is the movement on the outer edge. This once at- 
tained, to any degree of skill, the key to all fancy 
skating is then at command. The great essential 
in learning to skate on the " outside edge," or to do 
the " outer roll," as it is called, is once more confi- 
dence. If your skate has a keen edge it is just as 
safe to lean over on as it is to lean on the inside 
edge in doing the first movement in striking out. 

To attain the outside edge movement successfully 
and with the least risk of falling, you must try the 
first steps of the cross roll ; by this means you are 
at once obliged to use the outside edge of the skate. 
To skate the " cross roll," the skater stands as in 
learning the outside edge, and starting on the right 
foot, crosses the left over it. But instead of repeat- 
ing the movement, and so forming a circle, he 
immediately crosses the right foot again over the 
left, and so on. Then, instead of making one large 
circle, he forms a succession of arcs of circles, by 
which he is carried forward. The legs should be 
crossed over each other as far as possible, and the 
skater should not be content until he can even 
cross the knees. This is a very pretty movement 
when neatly done, and one of the most graceful on 
the ice. The hands must hang quite easily and 
•quietly, and the body carried uprightly without 
being stiffened. 

Let it be a rule, without exception, to keep the 
knees straight when skating. ' Nothing looks more 
■clumsy or awkward than a skater who keeps his 
knees bent. And even if he can cut all the rarest 
figures, the bent knees destroy their effect, and the 
skater still remains ungraceful. 

In figure-skating, which is the fine-art part of the 
sport, the one first learned is usually " three " or 
" eight." The latter is really the simpler 
of the two, and is accomplished by the 
skater's making an entire circle before 
he crosses his feet. So that, if his right 
foot starts on the upper circle, his left 
makes the lower one. (Always start 
from the point where the circles cut each 
other.) At first the skater will find some difficulty 
! in getting quite round the circles, but he will soon 
accomplish that object if he slightly swing the off- 
leg round toward the toes of the other. In good 
skating, the course is entirely steered by the foot 
that is off the ice ; that which is on it only serving 
to sustain the skater. 

The figure " three " is ii.ade by the skater's start- 
ing as before on the right foot as if he were to make 





an "eight," but doing it as gently as possible. 
Then, instead of swinging the left foot round so as 
to make a circle, he lets it retnain at least a foot 
behind theright foot. The consequence of so doing 
is, that when three-fourths of the circle are com- 
pleted, the off-foot gives a curious sway to the 
flody, and the skater spins round 
on his right foot, changing at 
the same time from the outside 
to the inside edge, and cuts the 
second half of the " three " back- 
ward. When the skater can do 
this easily with the right foot, 
he should practise it with the left; and when he 
can cut the " three " with equal ease with either 
foot, he should cut two together, as seen in the 
drawing. Let the reader here refer to the drawing 
and trace the skater through it. He begins with 
the left-hand " three," starting with his left foot on 
the outside edge ; when he gets to the twist of 
the "three" he spins round, and finishes the fig- 
ure (still with the left foot) on the inside edge back- 
ward. 

When the skater has become familiar with the 
preceding movements, he should turn his attention 
to the movement backward on the outside edge. 
A good method of learning this movemtnt is by 
starting to cut a "three," and immediately after 
the twist to place the outside edge of the off-foot 
on the ice, at the same time lifting the other foot. 
This is soon acquired, and assists the learner in the 
movement of the cross roll backwards, one of the 
most graceful and skilful performances on ice. 

In learning the back cross roll, the skater need 
not start with any impetus at all. Let him merely 
stand still, place the left outside edge well into the 
ice, lean slightly upon that side, and gently swing 
the other foot round until it has crossed the left 
foot and is planted with its outside edge on the ice. 
The left foot is thejn crossed behind the right, and 
it will be found that the mere swing of the foot and 
leg is sufficiently powerful to urge the skater back- 
ward. The greatest care should be taken to avoid 
too great an impetus at starting, and in a short 
time the skater will find himself able to glide over 
the ice in this manner with perfect ease. 

Expertness in these few movements will render 
all forms of figure-skating easy to learn and will en- 
title one to rank as thoroughly proficient in the ice- 
art — one of the most pleasant and healthful amuse- 
ments to be found in the winter months. 



5(5 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



ROLLER-SKATING 



Roller-skating, though often looked down 
upon by ice-skaters who are apt to regard it as a 
much inferior amusement, has many advantages not 
shared by the other. It is not dependent upon the 
weather; it can be enjoyed under shelter and on 




moonless nights; the surface under foot can more 
easily be kept in good condition; and conveniences 
for resting, etc., can more readily be provided. There 
is no danger, moreover, of breaking through thin ice 
and so causing a wetting or more serious mishap, 
and girls and young children are not exposed to the 
severe cold and chills they risk when on the ice. 

The roller-skates first used were formed of four 
hard-wood wheels or hard rubber, placed one after 
the other on the centre line of the skate. Nothing 
could be accomplished with these beyond a forward 
glide and this only with considerable exertion. 
More recently a skate was invented with two pairs 
of wheels, one forward and one back, which enable 
the skater to move in circles by leaningto one side or 
the other. This was a great improvement, and the 
amusement which heretofore had only been indulged 
in by quite young children was imme- 
,diately adopted not only by their older 
brothers and sisters but by grown people 
as well, and soon rinks, as they were 
called, were fitted up in cities and towns all 
over the world for the practice of the art. 

In putting on roller-skates for the first 
time the learner will see at once that he 
can only slip backward and forward, and 
that side slipping is almost impossible. 
He should first, therefore, learn to balance him- 
self on them with a view to avoid the forward or 
backward slide, and this is best done by learning 
to walk on them ; by this means the muscles of the 



ankles are gradually trained to the work of ob- 
taining command of the feet in the balancing. 
When he can walk pretty well on them he should 
begin to slide along easily and slowly, not turn- 
ing his skate on the floor, but allowing the change 
of direction to be made by lifting each foot about 
an inch from the floor. In doing this he should 
move the body forward and outward, so as to 
balance well on the foot he moves forward. The 
outside roll is the key movement for all evolutions 
on roller-skates ; for when this beautiful movement 
is acquired all the others follow easily. Ice-skaters 
who excel on the steel runners always make the 
mistake of trying to do too much when they begin 
roller-skating. They seem to imagine that all they 
have to do is to put on the rollers and proceed at 
once to execute all the difficult movements they are 
familiar with on ice-skates, instead of first perfect- 
ing themselves in the fundamental rules of the new 
art. 

It should be understood, at the outset, that 
learning to skate on the ice and learning to glide 
along with ease on roller skates are two different 
things. In ice-skating not only has the learner to 
guard against slipping forward and backward, but 
against side slipping, while he has also to learn to 
balance himself on a narrow edge, which is, of 
course, trying to the muscles of the ankles, especi- 
ally for girls and women. In this latter respect the 
roller-skate possesses a great advantage over ice- 
skates, inasmuch as, from its peculiar construction, 
it supports the ankle in an upright position, and 
prevents it from turning over beyond a given point; 




hence, ladies and children who do not possess 
strength in the ankles to balance themselves upon 
the narrow edge of an ice-skate can learn to skate 
upon the rollers with ease. 



ICE-BOATING. 



57 



ICE-BOATING. 



There is no winter sport more exciting or thrill- 
ing than sailing before a strong breeze in an 
ice-boat. True it is not without danger to the 
inexperienced, but such a one should never go in a 
boat of any kind, excepting as a passenger. To one 
who is cool-headed and who understands the man- 



and inexpensive one can be made which will give 
its owner probably as much pleasure as the most 
highly priced ones do their possessors. 

Reduced to its elements an ice-boat is only a 
frame of wood on runners with one or more sails 
attached. A simple one can be constructed by 




agement of sail-boats there is as perfect safety on the 
ice as in the water and the most timid can entrust 
themselves to his care with the absolute assurance 
that they will sufEer no harm and will enjoy the very 
keenest delight. 

Ice-boating is purely an American invention and 
an American pastime, being scarcely known outside 
of the United States and Canada. So far has it 
been carried in our country that very expensive 
yachts have been built (some over sixty feet long 
and carrying a thousand feet or more of sail) and a 
number of clubs have been formed. But the boat 
need not be large or costly ; indeed a veiy simple 



fastening two boards together (one about five feet 
long and the other three and a half feet) in the 
form of a cross, the top of it (the bow of the boat) 
extending a foot beyond the cross-piece. Under 
each end of the cross-piece an ordinary, old-fash- 
ioned skate should be firmly secured, and a third 
skate should be placed under the stern end of the 
longer plank. This last skate should be attached 
so that it can be readily turned, as its purpose is to 
serve as the rudder of the boat. The mast should 
be stepped where the two boards cross. The boat 
should be braced by running strips of wood from 
each end of the cross-piece to the bow and stern. 



58 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



On this framework other boards can be placed to 
make the boat more comfortable or it can be used 
without these additional boards. Such a boat will 
only accommodate one person, who sits near the 




stern on the long plank with his feet resting on the 
cross-piece. A helm of some sort should be. made 
to control the rudder skate, as the results would be 
serious if the rudder were unmanageable. This can 
readily be done by boring a hole at the end of the 



long plank in which a small post can be placed. 
The skate is then fastened to the bottom of the 
post which projects slightly below the plank and a 
bar across the top of the post with tiller ropes 
attached will complete the steering apparatus of 
the craft. Instead of a rudder the steering may be 
done by the feet, as in coasting ; only in this case 
they should have skates on. If that is done the 
skate under the stern should be made stationary. 
The steersman can make himself more comfortable 
by putting some sort of a seat in front of his helm 
to sit on instead of on the plank. His feet could 
then rest on the plank and not on the cross-piece. 
Any simple sail will answer for such a craft ; that 
used in a cat-boat serves the purpose as well as 
any. A boat of this kind, if made strong, would 
cost little money and would give unbounded pleas- 
ure to its maker and his friends. 

An ice-boat close-hauled sails nearer to the wind 
than any water-yacht. With wind abeam, the 
speed is twice that of the wind itself ; going free 
it is nearly four times. It is a peculiarity of the 
ice-boat that the sheets are always flattened aft, 
whether by the wind or going free, and both main- 
sail and jib draw. In running free, if dead before 
the wind, an ice-boat would soon run out of it, and 
therefore she has to keep her sails at an angle to 
the wind by running across and with it. In other 
words she beats to leeward. Thus, with a wind 
blowing down the river and a boat scudding before 
it, her sheets would be flat aft, and she would cross 
from one side to the other alternately, jibing her 
mainsail over as she did so. To bring an ice-boat 
to anchor, the jib has to be lowered and the helm 
" hard up " or " hard down." To stop the boat 
temporarily you only have to bring 4ier up in the 
wind without going far enough over to tack. 



SKATING-WINGS. 



Every skater knows how much easier it is to get 
over the ice with the wind at his back than in his 
face, and most boys have probably tried the experi- 
ment when skating before the wind of holding their 
coats wide open and being driven forward by the 
breeze without any effort of their own. Some per- 
haps have even opened an umbrella and allowing 
the wind to catch it have found themselves pulled 



forward at a most enjoyable rate of speed. Such a 
motion is almost like flying, and is probably as near 
an approach to the feeling of a bird in the air as we 
shall ever experience. 

This making a living ice-boat of oneself has many 
advantages besides the ease and swiftness of the 
movement. Ice that is too rough for ordinary 
skating serves very well for this purpose. A light 



SKA TING- WINGS. 



59 



fall of snow is no drawback in this amusement, but 
father a help ; whereas it often spoils the ice for the 
skater. Salt-water ice, which is too soft to 
afford much enjoyment to the cutter of " fig- 
ares of eight," is plenty hard enough for 
this form of skate-sailing. There is abso- 
lutely no serious danger attending the sport, 
unless indeed it is practised on thin ice, and 
then the risk of breaking through when 
swiftly skimming over it is far less than 
when walking more leisurely and slowly on 
it. 

Taking advantage of the hint afforded 
by the open coat and umbrella, various de- 
vices of sails or wings have been made to 
be attached to the body of the skater to aid 
him in sailing without a boat over the ice. 
One of the simplest of these is the "bat- 
wing." This is made by cutting out of 
stout cloth a piece large enough to reach 
from the crown of the head to tl^e ankles 
and from the wrists of the outstretched 
arras to head and ankles. It is attached to 
the body by bands at the forehead, waist, 
ankles and wrists. By extending the arms 
when on the ice the wind acts on the entire 
surface of the cloth and imparts considera- 
ble speed to the skater. Folding the arms 
closes the wings and the effect of the wind 
is diminished. To spare one the fatigue of 
his keeping arms continually outstretched, 
a rod can be carried in the hands and sub- 
stituted from time to time for the arms. 

Sails of various kinds are also used for 
this purpose. They are of all sizes and 
shapes — square, oblong, triangular, etc., 
sometimes large enough to propel two per- 
sons, and sometimes intended only for one. 
Frequently they are made with m.ast and 
boom, the mast resting in a socket fastened 
to the waist, as the standard-bearer carries 
the colors of his regiment. In other cases 
they are either carried in the hand or strap- 
ped to the body, as their size or the inclina- 
tion of their users may determine. There is 
no end to the variety of styles that may be 
adopted, and an ingenious boy by using his 
wits can design many novelties that will 
both amuse and startle his companions and 
elders. Under favorable circumstances he 
can travel with astonishing rapidity over 
the ice in this way. He can literally out- 



strip the wind and '.lome clairr. 
eighty or even a hundred miles 



attain a velocity of 
an hour. 




6o 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



TOBOGGANING. 



Like lacrosse, tobogganing originated in Canada, 
where it is still the prevailing winter amusement. 
It is really hillside coasting, but on ice instead of 
on snow and with a peculiarly shaped sleigh, first 
used by the natives of that country to bring home 
the spoils of the hunt. The toboggan now used by 
Canadians consists of two or three slips of birch 
or bass-wood, about a quarter of an inch thick and 




six or eight feet long, and with one end turned 
over. There are several cross-bars, and a miniature 
bulwark runs along each side, the whole frame 
being strongly bound together by catgut. The 
remnant of Huron Indians, on their reserve at 
Lorette, below Quebec, have almost a monopoly of 
the manufacture of toboggans, and carry on a very 
profitable trade. 

An ingenious boy, however, can make a very 
good toboggan with a couple of pieces of quarter- 
inch pine lumber eight or nine feet long and one foot 
wide. These boards should be placed side by side 
and fastened together by strips of wood on the top. 
It is necessary to make these very secure so that 



they will not become loose when the toboggan is 
whizzing down a steep hill. Two side-bars should 
be lashed to the cross-pieces and the front ends of 
the boards curled over and held back by cords. 
Unlike sleds and sleighs, toboggans have no run- 
ners. 

Formerly any hill with a straight road and a good 
slant would do for the sport. But as the amuse- 
ment spread and was adopted by a larger number 
of grown people as a means of entertainment in cold 
weather, the preparations have become more elab- 
orate and clubs now have " slides " made for them, 
often at considerable expense. To construct one 
it is requisite to select a good hillside, with a straight 
roadway a quarter of a mile long, and then to build 
a long, slanting scaffold at the top of the hill, fifty 
feet to seventy feet from the ground at the upper 
end of the incline, and with standing room at the 
top for scores of tobogganers and ladies. The in- 
clined front of each of these scaffolds is boarded 
down to the point at which it meets the earth. Its 
surface is then divided into three, four or five 
slides by ridges of snow, and these ridges are con- 
tinued down the hillside. But snow is only used 
for these ridges, which serve to keep the toboggans 
apart and to prevent them from running into one 
another. The slides themselves are coated with 
ice, made by pouring or sprinkling water between 
the ridges. The snow on the hillside is also wet and 
frozen, so that the whole quarter of a mile of hill- 
side is a sheet of ice. A high ridge of snow 
separates the slides from the path up the hill, and 
along this path the men drag their sleds. Once 
on top of the scaffold, the tobogganer puts his 
toboggan down upon the fiat platform, with its 
curved front end just over the edge. When all are 
ready, the passengers having got firm holds upon 
the little side-rails at the edges of the slender 
board, the steerer throws himself forward upon the 
toboggan, so that he rests on one haunch upon it, 
with one leg free to steer with. The force of his 
movement and weight of his body send the frail 
board flying over the edge of the scaffold and down 
the steep ice-clad planking. The sensation experi- 
enced as the sled, with its party, dashes down the 
steep incline is like falling from the roof of a four- 
story house. You feel yourself and the strip of 
birch veneer beneath you loosened from the earth 



TOBOGGANING. 



6i 



and flying like a meteor toward the black crowd of either side, and then a comforting bump and grat- 
spectators far below you at the foot of the hill. ing as the less steep ground is touched. After that 
The very manner in vjhich the toboggan grazes the the supple board bends beneath its load in obe- 




TOBOGGANING IN EARNEST. 



slide .nakes it less reassuring than if it did not dience to every undulation and slight hummock in 
touch at all. There is a roar, a blast of intensely its path. The quarter of a mile is frequently made 
cold wind, a flash of the white walls of snow on in thirty seconds. 



62 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



SNOW-SHOEING. 



Besides tobogganing, the Canadians have an- 
other winter sport that we have to some extent 
borrowed from them. Snow-shoeing, however, is 
not confined to Canada and the United States. It 
has been practised for many years by the Esquimaux 
and Laplanders, by some tribes in Central Asia, 
and by some in Norway, where the shoe is called a 
"ski," and is somewhat differently shaped from the 
one used in America. 

Snow-shoeing is a cross between sleighing and 



couple of pegs, or a small block, is placed just back 
of where the heel should rest, a single strap v/ill 
suffice to make the foot secure. It is necessary 
always to carry a stick to steer with. 

The regular Amer can snow-shoe, however, is a 
more elaborate affair. It is generally made out of 
light ash, say, half an inch or so thick, bent to a 
long oval, the two ends fastened closely together 
with catgut. Across the frame, four or five inches 
from the larger end, a strip of flat wood is fitted. 




SNOW-SHOEING IN NORWAY. 



skating, and yet differs decidedly from both of 
them. In Canada it was invented by the native 
Indians to enable them to walk over soft, deep snow 
without sinking in. The shoe used there is very 
broad, suggesting perhaps a tennis racket in its 
general form as much as anything else. The Nor- 
wegian ski, on the other hand, is intended to aid 
one in gliding down a hill or mountain-side quickly, 
and is really a long runner strapped to the foot. A 
pair of them can readily be made out of two barrel 
staves by slightly bending up one end of each and 
attaching straps to fasten them to the feet. If a 



and other pieces are fastened about two feet from 
the ends in order to strengthen the shoe and give 
it a greater spring. Catgut is woven across the 
frame to enable it to rest on the snow without sink- 
ing in. In the centre of the front cross-bar a hole 
is left (three to four inches square) for the front of 
the foot when raising the heel. These shoes vary 
in length from two to six feet, and in width from 
ten to twenty inches. For club races ten inches, 
is the minimum width, without restriction as tO' 
length. 

Of course, in first using either the Canadian oir 



f 



SNOW-SHOEING. 



63 



Norwegian form of shoe, one will find it clumsy 
work, and his efforts will seem very awkward. But 
perseverance in this, as in most other things, will 
conquer the difficulties and soon give one the 



and from school and in fact for almost every pur- 
pose. They become very expert in travelling in 
them and frequently jump with them on from a 
bank even seven or eight feet high. The highest 




SNOW-SHOEING IN CANADA. 



needed dexterity in managing his foot-gear. A few 
tumbles do no great harm and the fun derived 
afterwards from the sport will prove the falls to have 
been a cheap price to pay for the pleasure. Nor- 
wegian children use their snow-shoes in going to 



jump, however, ever reported was made by a famous 
runner, known as" Snow-Shoe Thompson," a West- 
erner of our own country, who is said to have once 
leaped into a snow-drift from a height of a hundred 
and eighty feet ! 



64 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



HORSEBACK RIDING. 




Riding on horseback is 
generally allowed to be one 
of the most cheerful and 
enlivening of all exercises, 
whether for youth or man- 
hood ; and it is hoped that 
the following brief remarks 
upon it will prove interest- 
ing to every boy who has it 
in his power, or, at least, can 
contrive, to mount a nag. 
In mounting, the rider should place himself rath- 
er before the horse's shoulder, and turn his left side 
to it; he must hold his whip in his left hand, take 
hold of the centre of the snafHe reins with his right 
hand, and pass the middle finger of his left hand 
through them, from before, keeping the back of that 
hand toward the horse's head. He should next 
place his left hand on the animal's neck, about a 
foot from the saddle ; with his right hand draw the 
reins through his left and shorten them until he 
has an equal feeling, with the latter hand, on the 
horse's neck ; and then with his right hand he 
should throw the end of the reins to the off-side. 
With the same hand he must next take a lock of the 
mane, and twist it round his left thumb, and then 
close his left hand on the mane and reins. After 
these movements he takes hold of the left stirrup 
with his right hand, raises his left foot and puts it 
in the stirrup, turns his face so as to look across 
the saddle, places his right hand on the cantle, 
presses his left knee against the saddle on the girth, 
and keeps his heels back, so as to prevent his toes 
touching the horse's side ; he next takes a spring 
from his right instep, and raises himself in the stir- 
rup, pressing his knees firmly against the saddle, 
and keeping his heels together, yet slightly drawn 
back. In this position the body must be upright, 
and rather supported by his right hand. From this 
attitude, he moves his right hand from the cantle 
to the pommel, passes his right leg over the horse's 
quarters to the off-side, presses his right knee 
against the saddle, and his body then comes gently 
down into it; his right hand, of course, next quits 
the saddle, and his left, the mane. 

The rider being thus mounted, he should hold his 
left or bridle hand, the wrist bent outward, opposite 
ito, and at three inches from his body, and drop his 



right hand by the side of his thigh, place his right 
foot in the stirrup, unaided by either eye or hand, 
adjust his clothes, then change the whip from his 
left hand to his right, and hold it inclining toward 
the left ear of the horse. The whip should always 
be carried in the right hand, except when in the 
act of mounting or dismounting. If a groom at- 
tends at mounting, he must not be allowed to touch 
the reins, but merely hold that part of the bridle 
which comes down the cheek. In dismounting the 
movements are precisely the same as in mounting, 
only reversed. 

For a firm, correct seat, the thighs, turned inward, 
should rest flat upon the sides of the saddle without 
grasping, as the weight of the rider will give suffi- 
cient hold without such adventitious aid, which, in 
fact, only lifts the rider out of his saddle ; the 
thighs, however, must be kept so firm that they 
will not roll or move, so as to disturb the horse or 
loosen the rider's seat ; but if the horse should hes- 
itate to advance, they may then be slightly relaxed. 
The knees must be kept back, and stretched down 
so as to throw the thighs somewhat out of the per- 
pendicular, but no hold or grip should be taken 
with them, unless the rider has lost all other means 
of holding on ; if the thighs are in their proper posi- 
tion in the saddle, the legs and arms will be turned 
as they should be — that is, they will be in a line 
parallel with the rider's body, close to the horse's 
side, but without touching ; they may, however. 




sometimes give an additional aid to the seat, by a 
grasp with the calves, and also assist the aids of 
the hands in like manner ; the toes should be raised 
and the heels depressed, and kept from galling the 




HORSEBACK RIDING. 



66 



OUT- DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



horse's side. The body should be held quite erect, 
and the shoulders kept square and thrown back, 
the chest advanced, and the small of the back bent 
rather forward. The upper part of the arms must 
hang perpendicular from the shoulders, close to the 
hips, and be kept steady yet without rigidity, else 
they destroy the hand. The hands should be held 
with the wrists rounded a little outward, about four 
or five inches apart, in front of the body, the thumbs 
and knuckles pointing toward each other, and the 
finger nails to the body. 

The balance in riding preserves the body from 
those inclinations or swervings from side to side, 
which even the ordinary paces of a horse occasion ; 
it acts and corresponds with every move of the ani- 
mal, and therefore enables the rider to sit so firmly, 
that nothing can shift him from his seat. The es- 
sentials in keeping the balance are for the rider, 
when his horse is working straight and upright on 
his legs, to keep his body in an upright position ; 
when the animal breaks into a trot to incline his 
body a little back; and in the gallop, leap, or any 
violent action of the horse, generally to keep his 
body back. When the horse leans or bends, as he 
does when turning a corner sharply, or galloping 
round a circle, the rider must incline his body in 
the same degree, or else he will lose his balance ; 
indeed, the art of balancing consists in implicitly 
yielding the body to every movement of the horse, 
and to acquire it properly, the practice on circles is 
extremely useful, working carefully and equally to 
both sides. The rider should never take the least 
help from the reins in order to preserve his equilib- 
rium, for the bridle hand should always be kept 
fixed, and the reins held at such a length that they 
may support the horse, but not the rider. 

In trotting, the horse uses two feet at a time — 
that is, the near fore foot and the off hind foot, 
and vice versa; thus making only two beats instead 
of four, as in walking. In the trot there is a lead- 
ing foot, either the right or left, by which that side 
is a little more advanced than the other. The 
leading with either foot is extremely useful ; for if 
a horse unused to altering is obliged, through fa- 
tigue or chance, to change the leading leg for that 
which he is not habituated to, his action will be 
hard, cramped and irregular. During the trot tht. 
rider must sit close to the saddle, preserving his 
seat not by the pressure of his knees, but by a good 
balance of the body, which must be slightly inclined 
forward. He should neither stand nor rise in his 
stirrups, but allow his whole figure to act in unison 
with the motions of the horse, and in order to 



preserve a proper degree of correspondence he must 
keep his hands steady and pliant. If the horse 
trots too fast, the action should be checked by 
tightening the hold on the reins ; if too slow, he 
must be animated and encouraged to put his foot 
out boldly. While giving these animations, the 
rider must support his fore hand up, and then a 
touch of the fingers or an animation of the tongue, 
whip or legs will have its due effect. In road riding 
— the proper pace for which is the trot — if the horse 
trots in a disagreeably rough manner, the rider may 
ease the jolting by rising slightly in his. stirrups ; 
and the quicker the horse trots the easier it is for 
the rider, as he is elevated not by his own move- 
ments, but by the action of the horse. Though this 
is called rising in the stirrups, they are of no great 
importance to the rider in holding on ; indeed, no 
depetidence should be placed in such supports, for 
many persons who have relied on their footing in 
the stirrups have been thrown by the horse turning 
suddenly round or shying. The arms and shoulders 
must not be jerked up and down through the 
motion of the body, for great steadiness of hand is 
required to preserve the due degree of correspond- 
ence with the horse's mouth; neither should .the 
legs press his sides, as that would most likely cause 
him to break into a gallop, which pace he must not 
be permitted to shift into, as it spoils the beauty of 
the action to be constantly varying from one pace 
to the other. 

In the canter, which is the most difficult kind of 
gallop, the horse's feet are raised from and come to 
the ground, so as to mark a regular quick, sharp 
time of one, two, three, four. To urge the horse 
into a canter, the rider should press him with his 
legs or animate him with his tongue, and at the 
same time slightly raise his hand, to incite him to 
lift his fore legs. However, should he be inclined 
merely to perform a quicker trot, the hands must 
be kept firm and the animations increased until he 
moves at the desired pace. The gallop is an ex- 
tended canter, and in both actions it is immaterial 
with which leg the horse leads off, provided the 
hind leg of the same side follows it. In galloping 
to the right, the horse should lead with the inward 
or off fore leg, followed by the off hind leg; and m 
turning to the left, he must lead with the near fore 
and hind legs. When performed in this manner 
the action is termed united ; but if, on the contrary, 
he leads off with the off fore and near hind legs, 
and vice versa, he is considered disunited ; and if 
in o-alloping either to the right or left he leads with 
both near or off legs, his action is reckoned false 



HORSEBACK RIDING. 



67 



If the horse strikes off with the wrong leg, false or 
disunited, the rider should, by shortening the in- 
ward rein, and applying his off leg to the horse's 
side, strive to make him change, and lead with the 
proper leg. If the animations are not kept up, and 
the full action is not supported by the hand, the 
horse will break into a trot ; therefore, the moment 
the action is felt to be declining, it should be im- 
mediately restored by the proper animations. The 
stop in the gallop should be so timed that it may 
be begun when the horse's fore feet are coming to 
the ground, which is the beginning of the cadence, 
and then when the horse brings his hind feet to 
the exact distance, and so finishes the cadence. It 
is useless, however, to attempt making a perfect 
stop, unless the horse is correct in this pace or time 
of his paces. The double arrest is the stop com- 
pleted in two cadences of the gallop instead of one, 
and therefore is not so distressing either to the 
horse or his rider. At the first cadence, the body 
should be thrown gently back, so as to check the 
horse's movement in some measure, but not entire- 
ly ; and the finish should be in the second cadence, 
the rider still keeping his body back. 

The movable bar for leaping should not be more 
than from one to two feet in height at the first, but 
it may be gradually elevated as the rider perfects 
himself; however, it should never be very high. 
The leaps are taken either standing or flying. The 
former, although practised first, is by far the most 
difficult to sit ; but by being taken slowly and de- 
liberately, it affords the rider time and recollection, 
and the riding-master an opportunity to render 
assistance in case of mishaps, and to instruct. As 
its name implies, this leap is taken from a stand- 
ing position, without any run before it. When the 
horse is at the bar the animations of the hand and 
leg will incite him to rise, and as he does so, the 
rider should, to preserve his perpendicular position, 
allow his body to come rather forward, keep his 
back in, and his head firm; as the horse springs 
forward he should slip his breech under him, so as 
to let his body go readily back, and keep his legs 
close and body back until the animal's hind legs 
have come fully to the ground. The rider must 
press his legs, from the knee, so closely to the 
horse's sides, that the action of the body will not 



relax them ; the toes should be raised so as to 
keep the spurs from galling the horse's sides ; and, 
if requisite, they may be turned out a little, to 
strengthen the hold. The position of the hands 
also must be particularly attended to ; at the first 
moment of taking the leap, the rider must give the 
rein to the horse, without reserve ; and as the 
horse's hind feet come to the ground, collect the 
reins firmly, resume his position and proceed at a 
moderate pace. The hands should be kept low, 
and at the centre of the body ; for if otherwise they 
confine the horse's head, prevent the rider's body 
from going easily back, and also throw him for- 
ward. If the horse is too much collected, in order 
to incite him to rise, he will bound over the bar ; 
and if not sufficiently so, he will perhaps not clear 
it. The animations necessary must be left to the 
judgment of the rider, as they entirely depend on 
the temperament of the animal. 

The flying leap is much easier than the standing 
leap, although the movement is quicker. It may 
be taken from any pace without previously halting, 
but a moderate pace is the best, as then the horse 
rises at a proper time, neither too soon nor too 
late. From ten to fifteen yards is the proper dis- 
tance for a horse to trot before he takes the leap ; 
if he is well trained, he may be allowed to take his 
own pace to it ; but if he is sluggish, he should be 
animated with the spur just before his head is 
turned toward the leap, and pushed into a sort of 
collected gallop. It is quite useless for the rider, 
when taking this leap, to bring his body forward as 
the horse raises his fore legs, because the spring 
from the hind legs being taken instantly afterward, 
if the horse checked himself, and refused to take 
the leap, or did not come fair, he might be thrown 
over the horse's head through the forward position 
of his body. The rider should therefore hold on 
firmly by his legs, and keep his hands down. As 
the horse springs forward, his body will invariably 
take the proper movement of leaning back, espe- 
cially if he, at the moment of the spring, slips his 
breech under him and brings his waist forward. 

The horse requires, in this leap, little support from 
the hands until he comes to the ground, when the 
aid of the hands assists in supporting him, and in 
bringing the rider's body upright. 



68 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



DRIVING. 



<^l. 



''"J" V "^1 . "T. 



^''^W^k. 







THE YOUNG IDEA. 

Every boy ought to know how to drive. It is 
not only a great pleasure in itself, it is at times a 
great necessity as well, and an inability to handle 
the reins may often prove a decided mortification 
to the boy when he grows older. It is a more use- 
ful accomplishment even than riding, as opportuni- 
ties for exercising the former in this country are 
much more frequent than for practising the latter. 

A handsome horse, fully equipped in har- 
ness, attached to a light, well-made carriage, 
is one of the finest things to look at in the 
world. Few boys can safely be trusted to 
drive a pair ; nor have they physical power 
for the task. If, however, the youthful 
charioteer can drive a single horse well, he 
will find no difficulty in controlling a pair, 
provided their mouths are sufficiently tender 
for his strength to manage. As to the kind 
of horse to be selected for boys, it may be 
either a full-sized harness horse, or a gallo- 
way, or a pony ; the last two being the best 
fitted for juvenile driving. 

The harness is always composed of the 
same parts, which consist of three essential 
divisions: ist, the driving, or guiding 
part ; 2d, the drawing part ; and 3d, that 



for holding up the shafts. The driving part 
comprises the bridle and reins. The bridle is 
made up of a front-piece, a head-piece, two cheek- 
pieces and winkers (or blinders), a nose-band 
and a throat-lash. The cheek-pieces are buckled 
to the bit by means of leather loops, called billets, 
as also are the driving-reins, and the bearing- rein 
(or check-rein), which is attached to a separate bit 
called the bridoon (a plain snaffle), and then is 
hooked to the pad-hook. This is now generally 
dispensed with, but for young drivers it is often de- 
sirable when they have not strength to check the 
fall of a horse. The drawing part consist of a 
padded oval ring fitted to the shoulders, and called 
the collar, sometimes replaced by a padded strap 
across the chest called the breast-strap. On the 
collar are fastened two iron bars called hames, by 
means of a strap at the top and bottom, and these 
hames have a ring in the upper part for the reins to 
pass through, called the hame terret ; and nearer 
the lower part, a strong arm of iron covered with a 
coating of brass, silver, or leather, which receives 
in its eye the tug of the trace. The trace is a long 
and strong strap of double leather, stitched, which 
runs from the collar to the drawing-bar, and may 
be lengthened or shortened by a buckle. The part 
for holding the gig up consists of a pad or saddle. 




THE START. 




DRIVING. 



70 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 




■^-"t-^; 



i Jf 

' 'T//, 4v// -^ X - 

CHARMING AND SPEEDY TRAVELLING. 

which is buckled on to the horse by the belly-band, 
and from which the shaft is suspended by the back- 
band and shaft-tug. It is prevented from slipping 
forward by the crupper, which is slipped over the 
tail. Besides these parts, some horses have in ad- 
dition a breechen, which holds the shafts back in 
going down hill ; and when they are addicted to 
kicking, a strap is buckled over their hips to the 
shaft which is called a kicking-strap. 

Before driving, it is necessary that the horse or 
pony should be " put to," which is effected as fol- 
lows : 1st, slip the shafts through the tugs, or, if 
there are hooks, drop them down into them ; zd, 
put the traces on to the drawing-bar, either hooking 
them on, or else slipping them on to the eyes, and 
being careful to place the leather stops in these, to 
prevent the trace coming off ; 3d, buckle the belly- 
band sufficiently tight ; and 4th, buckle the kicking- 
strap, or breechen, if either is used. After this, the 
reins are taken from the terrets, where th^y were 
previously placed, and the horse is ready. 

In driving, the reins are held differently from the 
mode already described as used in riding, the fore- 
finger being first placed between them, and then 
both the reins are grasped by all the other fingers, 
and the near-side rein is also held firmly against the 
fore-finger by means of the thumb. In this way, on 




an emergency, the near or left rein may be pulled 
by itself, by holding it firmly with the thumb, and 
suffering the other, or off rein, to slip through the 
fingers, or vzce versa. The most usual way is to 
pull the left rein with the left hand, and the right 
with the right hand, by hooking one or two fingers 
over it while held firmly in the left. In this man- 
ner, with the whip also held in the right hand, the 
horse is guided or stopped. The young driver 
should take care and keep his feet well before him, 
with his knees as straight and firm as possible, so 
that in case of a fall of the horse he may not be 
thrown forward out of the vehicle he is driving. 
He should also sit square to his work, with his 
elbow held easily to his side, and his left thumb 
pointing to his horse's head, by which, as in riding, 
his elbow is pretty sure to be properly placed. The 
bit should not be too firmly pulled against, but a 
light and " give and take " kind of handling is the 



^^KKnvr*r9^j*f9-*-i 







» \ 



/.. 



— — S — ^..Juu 



SLEIGHING. 

best, by which the horse is allowed freedom of 
action, and yet is checked if he makes a mistake. 
In meeting other vehicles, the rule in this country 
is to keep to the right, and in passing them, to 
leave them also on the right. This should be rig- 
idly adhered to for fear of the accidents which 
would otherwise constantly happen. In England 
the custom is reversed and drivers must always keep 
to the left. 



BICVCLING. 



n 



BICYCLING. 



The modern bicycle and tricycle are direct de- 
scendants of the velocipede, a toy invented fifty 
years or more ago for tiie amusement of younger 

children. It was a 
low three-wheeled 
affair, the seat set 
a little forward of 
(and over) the two 
rear wheels and was 
propelled by two up- 
right sticks (worked 
forwards and back- 
wards by the hands) 
attached to these 
rear wheels. The 
steering was done 
by the feet on the 
front guiding wheel. 
Though the ma- 
chine seems clumsy 
compared with its 
present successors 




it afforded unbounded pleasure to the children of 
its generation and was considered by them an im- 
mense advance upon its predecessor, the rocking- 
horse. 

The bicycles and tricycles seen all over the 
country to-day offer a marked contrast to the 
ancient velocipede in their greater strength, grace, 
lightness and speed. They are propelled by the 
feet and steered by the hands, thus reversing the 
older method. The tricycle, of course, is safer for 
very young children to ride on than the bicycle, as 
there is naturally less danger of a fall from a three- 
wheeled machine than from a two-wheeled one — 
the latter having to be balanced carefully and only 
staying upright when in motion, whereas the 
former balances itself when standing still as well 
as when moving. The actual danger from a bi- 
cycle, however, is apt to be very much overesti- 
mated. A little practice will give any one skill 
enough to avoid falls if reasonable care be shown, 
and even if falls do occur they rarely result in any- 
thing worse than a hard knock or a bruise which a 
few hours will readily heal. 

Until quite recently nearly all the modern bi- 
cycles were constructed on the general plan of 
one high wheel and one very small one. The lat- 
ter more commonly was placed behind the former 
and served the purpose of a balance-wheel to steady 
the rider. The seat or saddle was placed directly 
over the centre of the larger wheel, which was the 
driving-wheel, worked by pedals attached to its 
hub. But in some makes the smaller wheel led 
and in that case served as steering wheel as well as 
balance, the steering apparatus in all 
bicycles forming a part of the forward 
wheel. The size of the large wheels 
in any of these styles varies in diame- 
ter from forty to sixty inches according 
to the height and weight of the owner. 
A step was fastened to the rod which 
connected the saddle with the small 
wheel as an aid in mounting and dis- 
mounting. 

Though these styles of bicycles are 

'perhaps still the ones most generally 

used, another make, quite differently 

constructed, has been rising in popular 

favor of late, and the indications are 



MB 



7s 



OUT- DOOR SP0R7S FOR BOYS. 



that it u-ill soon equally divide the patronage of 
wheelmen even if it does not entirely supersede 
the others. It is known as "the safety" and its 
peculiarity consists in having both wheels of ap- 
proximately the same size. They are much smaller 
than the large wheel in the other makes, averaging 




ON THE ROAD. 

about thirty inches only. The seat of the rider is 
between the wheels, though nearer the back one, 
and from its being so much lower as well as from 
the equalization in the size of the wheels the risk 
of a fall is reduced to a minimum. It is claimed 
for this machine that it rides as easily as any other 



kind and that fully as great speed can be obtained 
with the same expenditure of force, an attachment 
of cog-wheels compensating for its reduced size. 

" Safetys " are used by girls and women as well 
as by boys and men, being in fact the only form of 
bicycle that they can well ride. The seat in girls' 
safeties is usually placed lower than in those in- 
tended for boys and men, but it is frequently made 
saddle-fashion for them to stride. Such machines 
can be ridden by them in long skirts with perfect 
propriety and ease and they make a very graceful 
and attractive sight. 

Tandems have two seats placed one behind the 
other, each with its own pedals so that both riders 
can work the machine together. Cog-wheels give 
uniformity of motion and enable the two to aid each 
other more effectually than they otherwise would. 
Tandems are intended especially for men and women 
to ride together and are particularly serviceable for 
extended tours lasting several days, trips which 
ardent wheelmen are fond of making and which in 
pleasant weather furnish great enjoyment. 

In learning how to manage and ride a bicycle, a 
few lessons from a master of the art are better than 
any number of printed pages. But in the absence 
of any means of obtaining such practical instruction 
a few hints here may be of assistance. 

Before one can ride he must learn to mount, and 
mounting is really the most difficult part of the 
task, for when that is once thoroughly mastered the 
greatest obstacle is removed and the battle is more 
than half won. In the first place have confidence 
in yourself. Do not fear falling, and do not think 
of falling, and the chances are that you will not fall. 
But if you should, pick yourself up and try again. 
A tumble in starting a machine is a trifle, and will 
not hurt you. Resolve that it shall not happen 
again and it probably will not. > 

Familiarize yourself with the bicycle by walking 
with it a few times around the room or over the 
road or wherever you are learning its management. 
Study it carefully, noting just how each part works 
and what it is intended to do. Then when you feel 
that you understand it thoroughly get on it as fol- 
lows : taking hold of the handle, run forward three 
or four steps with the machine, keeping on its right 
side ; then place your left foot on the step and, bal- 
ancing yourself well, throw the right foot over the 
wheel and, at the same time, lift yourself into the 
seat and place your feet on the pedals, grasp the 
handle and you are mounted and already riding. 
All of this has to be done very quickly and while 
the motion you imparted to it by running a few 



BICYCLING. 



73 



steps still lasts ; for the instant a bicycle stops it 
falls. It can only be kept upright by moving. But 
there is time enough to do it in if one does not lag. 



ing, a friendly wall at the right is serviceable in sav- 
ing falls. Once on the machine the pedals must be 
kept going in order to preserve that uprightness of 




11 irl 

RESTING-PLACE. 



Whether or not this sounds easy, it is not so easy 
to accomplish it successfully the first time it is tried. 
A few efforts, however, will overcome the difficulties 
and make it seem a very simple affair. In practis- 



beanng which is mor^ essential to wheelmen than 
to any other class of .nankind. If, after you are on 
the bicycle, you feel yourself falling, turn the wheel 
in the direction of the threatened tumble, and if it 



74 



OUT- DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



does not check the toppling over, go down with the 
machine ; that is, on the same side as it inclines. 
By disengaging the leg nearest the ground, and ex- 
tending it, you will in all probability come down 
gently on that foot ; then disengage the other. To 
dismount, you must let the machine slow up and 
then as the left pedal is on the " long throw " 
(furthest down), step on it, throwing the right leg 
over the backbone,"and you are off. 

Any fair, hard even surface is suitable to ride on. 
In the large cities asphalt or macadamized pave- 
ments are the best ; in towns and rural districts a 
good country road will answer very well. Irregular 
surfaces are to be avoided as the jolts they occasion 
are apt to destroy the balance and so send rider and 
horse down. The balance is, of course, the great 
thing to be preserved. That is easily done, after a 
few trials, on ordinary occasions, but it is almost 
impossible to do so when either wheel strikes a small 
stone or other impediment in the road. When 



such an obstruction is encountered unexpectedly, 
and the rider is off his guard, it may send him off 
his wheel head foremost, the worst and most dan- 
gerous fall he can have. But if he has his eyes on 
the road, and sees his danger in time, he can, even 
if unable to avoid it, throw himself over sideways, 
and by extending his. leg and landing on his foot 
prevent any very serious mishap. 

Bicycling is so healthful and fine a pastime, and 
has become so favorite a recreation, that hundreds 
of clubs of wheelmen have been formed all over the 
country. They have their own rules, conventions, 
parades, tours and journals. So proficient have 
some become and so emulous are many of excelling 
one another that they have gradually raised the rec- 
ord until it now (1890) stands at two hundred and 
ten miles for a run of eighteen hours out of the 
twenty-four — an achievement of which they may 
well be proud, and which would have been regarded 
as impossible a dozen years ago. 




/lywkeiliirr! 
ound ar|d.rour[f% 

t^ioilt a aoiJi|d- 




TRICYCLING. 



76 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



SWIMMING. 



Swimming is the most aseful of all athletic ac- 
complishments, as by It human life is frequently 
saved which might have been sacrificed. It is also 
useful in the development of muscular strength, as 
well as highly beneficial to the nervous system. 
The art of swimming is by no means difficult of at- 
tainment, and many writers have supplied directions 
to facilitate its acquisition. Above all things, self- 
confidence (not rashness leading into danger) is re- 
quired ; for when this is possessed, all difficulty 
soon ceases. Dr. Franklin, himself an expert swim- 
mer, recommends that at first a familiarity with the 
buoyant power of water should be gained ; and to 
acquire this, he directs the learner, after advancing 
into the water breast high, to turn round, so as to 
bring his face to the shore ; he is then to let a white 
stone fall in the water, which will be seen at the 
bottom. His object must now be, by diving down 
with his eyes open, to reach and bring up the stone. 
He will easily perceive that there is no danger in this 
experiment, as the water gets shallower, of course, 
towards the shore, and because, whenever he likes, 
by depressing his feet, he can raise his head again 
above water. 

The beginner, in this initial experiment — for it is 
the very first lesson in swimming — will be forcibly 
struck by the difficulty he experiences in his attempt 
to get at the stone under water, in consequence of 
the resistance the water itself offers to his progress. 
He realizes at once, by actual experiment, that his 
body will not so readily sink as he imagined ; and 
this important fact inspires him at once with a de- 
gree of confidence at the very outset which is of it- 
self half the battle. He becomes aware of the great 
sustaining power of water, and learns how buoyant, 
his body can become in the water by a slight exei- 
tion of muscular force. Having thus learned this 
truth practically, and also- the great importance of 
always keeping his lungs well expanded with air, he 
will soon attain a practical knowledge of the other 
branches of the art. 

Should a person accidentall}' fall into the water, 
provided he retained his presence of mind, a knowl- 
edge of the above facts would save him probably 
from a " watery grave," even if he did not know how 
to swim. The body being but very slightly heavier 
than the volume of water it displaces, will, with a 
vetY slight motion of the hands under water, float. 



When the chest is thoroughly inflated with air, it is 
lighter than water, and floats naturally, having half 
the head above water ; so that the person exposed 
to danger has only to turn upon his back, in order 
that that half consisting of his face, with the mouth 
and nostrils, be above the water line. But to float 
thus upon the water, the greatest care must be taken 
not to elevate the arms or other parts above its sur- 
face ; and it is in remembering this caution that 
presence of mind in the time of danger confers so 
much benefit ; for in the moment of terror a person, 
thrown into the water, almost instinctively stretches 
out his hands aloft to grasp at some object, thereby 
depriving himself of the very means which would 
frequently keep him afloat until succor arrived. 
By elevating any part of the body in this way, we 
remove it from the support afforded by the water, 
and thus render sinking inevitable. 

So much for floating. Now for swimming. 

In the first place, never enter thewater within an 
hour of eating a meal, either before or after, especi- 
ally after. If you go into the water with a hungry 
stomach you withdraw from the digestive functior" 
valuable heat necessary to digest food ; while if you 
go in too soon after a full meal, digestion is im- 
peded, and still more serious results are likely to 
follow. Never enter the water when you feel cold 
or chilly, as you need all the heat of your system to 
produce the reaction from your first dip m the 
water. 

It is a very mistaken notion to enter cold water 
after a " cooling off " process. It is even worse than 
going in overheated. A man can jump into cold 
water while in a perspiration and experience no ill 
effects from it, provided he comes out of the water 
before a reaction is prevented. But to enter the 
water while he is cold, and lacks the natural heat to 
produce the reaction so essential to health in bath- 
ing, is to lose all benefit from the bath. 

The best aid a learner can have is that of an ex- 
perienced friend who can direct and criticise his 
efforts and lend assistance should it be necessarj^, 
but if no such friend is at hand let him advance 
gradually up to his arm-pits in the water, and then, 
turning about, strike slowly out towards the shore, 
taking care to keep his legs well up from the bottom- 
Rigid perseverance in this course will, in a very 
short time, enable him to feel himself afloat, and 



78 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



moving at "all fours " — a delight equal to that ex- 
perienced by the child who first feels that he can 
walk from chair to chair. 

In striking olif, the learner, having turned himself 




to the shore, as before recommended, should fall 
towards the water gently, keeping his head and neck 
perfectly upright, his breast advancing forward, his 
chest inflated ; then, withdrawing the legs from the 
bottom, and stretching them out, strike the arms 
forward in unison with the legs. The back can 
scarcely be too much hollowed, or the head too much 
thrown back, as those who do otherwise will swim 
with their feet too near the surface, instead of allow- 
ing them to be about a foot-and-half deep in the 
water. The hands should be placed just in front of 
the breast, the fingers pointing forward and kept 
close together, with the thumbs to the edge of the 
fore-fingers ; the hands must be made rather con- 
cave on the inside, though not so much as to dimin- 
ish the size. I n the stroke of the hands, they should 
be carried forward to the utmost extent, taking care 
that they do not touch the surface of the water; 
they should next be swept to the side, at a distance 
from, but as low as, the hips ; and should then be 
drawn up again, by bringing the arms towards the 
side, bending the elbows upwards and the wrists 
downwards, so as to let the hands hang down while 
the arms are raising them to the first attitude. 

The legs, which should be moved alternately with 
the hands, must be drawn up with the knees inwards, 
and the soles of the feet inclined outwards ; and 
they should then be thrown backwards, as widely 
apart from each other as possible. These motions 
of the hands and legs may be practised out of the 
water ; and whilst exercising the legs, which can 
only be done one at a time, the learner may rest one 
hanQ on the back of a chair to steady himself, while 
he moves the opposite leg. When in the water, the 



learner must take care to draw in his breath at the 
instant that his hands, descending to his hips, cause 
his head to rise above the surface of the water ; 
and he should exhale his breath at the moment his 
body is propelled forward through the action of the 
legs. If he does not attend precisely to these rules, 
he will invariably have a downward motion, and, 
as the boys say, swim furthest where it is deepest. 

When under the water, the swimmer may either 
move in the usual way, or keep his hands stretched 
before him, which will enable him to cut the water 
more easily, and greatly relieve his chest. If he ob- 
serves that he approaches too near the surface of 
the water, he must press the palms of his hands up- 
wards. If he wishes to dive to the bottom, he must 
turn the palms of his hands upwards, striking with 
them repeatedly and rapidly whilst the feet are re- 
posing ; and when he has obtained a perpendicular 
position, he should stretch out his hands like feelers, 
and make the usual movement with his feet, then he 
will descend with great rapidity to the bottom. It 
is well to accustom the eyes to open themselves 
under the water, at least in those beds of water that 
admit the light, as it will enable the swimmer to 
ascertain the depth of water he is in. 

To swim on the side, the body should be turned 
either on the left or right side, while the feet per- 
form their usual motions. The arm from unti^er the. 
shoulder stretches itself out quickly, at the same 
time that the feet are striking. The other arm 
strikes at the same time with the impelling of the 
feet. The hand of the latter arm begins its stroke 
on a level with the head. While the hand is again 
brought forward m a flat position, and the feet are 




contracted, the stretched-out hand is, while work- 
ing, drawn back towards the breast, but not so much 
impelling as sustaining. As swimming on the side 
presents to the water a smaller surface than on the 



SWIMMING. 



79 



waist, when rapidity is required, the former is often 
preferable to the latter. 

Treading water is a sort of perpendicular swim- 
ming and can be done in two ways. In the first 
the hands are compressed against the hips and the 
feet describe their usual circle. The other mode 
consists in not contracting both legs at the same 
time, but one after the other, so that while the one 
remains contracted the other describes a circle. In 
this mode, however, the legs must not be stretched 
out, but the thighs are placed in a distended posi- 
tion and curved as if in a half-sitting position. 

To swim dog-fashion each hand and foot should 
be alternately used. The hands, one after the other, 
are drawn towards the chin in a compressed form, 
and then expanded and slightly hollowed, with 
fingers close, and as they strike the water the feet 
are likewise drawn towards the belly and struck 
backwards with a kind of kick. 

In swimming on the back one should turn over 
in the water by the combined motion of the arm 
and leg, and then extend his body, his head being in 
a line with it, so that the back and upper part of 
the head may be immersed, while the face and breast 
are out of the water. The hands should be placed 
on the thighs straight down, and the legs moved as 
in forward swimming, taking care that the knees 
do not rise above the surface in striking them out. 
Sometimes the hands are used after the motion of 
a wing or fan, by which a slight progression is also 
made at the same time that the surface of the body 
is well lifted out of the water. 

To swim on the back without employing the feet, 
the body is placed in a horizontal position, the feet 
are stretched out stifHy, and the heels and toes are 
kept in contact ; then the body is to be somewhat 



curved at the seat, the hands are to be stretched 
flatly forward over the body, and slowly striking in 
small circles, the loins are somewhat drawn up at 
each stroke. This will move the body in the direc- 
tion of the feet. To go in an opposite direction, 
the body is placed horizontally, but somewhat curved 
in the seat, the head in its natural position, the 
arms are kept close to the body, with the elbows 
inclined inwards, and the hands describe small 
circles from the back to the front, at about a foot 
and a half from the hips. These modes serve 
to exercise and strengthen the arms in an extraor- 
dinary degree without in the least fatiguing the 
breast. 

In the thrust the swimmer lies horizontally upon 
his waist, and makes the common motions in swim- 
ming. He then simply stretches one arm forwards, 
as in swimming on the side, but remains lying upon 
the waist, and in a widely described circle, he car- 
ries the other hand, which is working under the 
breast, towards the hip. As soon as the arm has 
completed this motion, it is lifted from the water in 
a stretched position, and thrown forward in the 
greatest horizontal level, and is then sunk with the 
hand flat into the water ; while the swimmer thus 
stretches forth the arm, he, with the other hand 
, stretched as wide as possible, describes a small 
circle in order to sustain the body; after this he 
brings his hand in a largely described circle rapidly 
to the hip, lifts the arm out of the water, and thrusts 
it forward. During the describing of the larger 
circle the feet make their movements. To make 
the thrust beautifully, a considerable degree of 
practice is required. This mode of swimming is 
useful where a great degree of rapidity is required 
for a short distance. 




8r 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



ROWING. 




It may be safely assumed that every boy who 
takes to rowing or sailing for amusement wishes to 
go fast ; now, every fast boat is more or less liable 
to be upset, even with the best and most skilful 
management ; and when a boat is upset, he who 
■can swim laughs at the adventure ; he who cannot 
-swim is not only himself in danger, but endangers 
others, who feel obliged to risk their own lives in 
■order to save his. Therefore, let every one learn to 
swim before he attempts either to row or sail in a 
fast boat ; he will then be able to enjoy the amuse- 
ment, and his friends on shore will feel at ease, and 
not wish to deter him. Having acquired this art, 
lie may safely proceed in learning to row and with 
it to learn the general management of a ^owing- 
l)oat. Boys at school and men at college can often 
row very well without being watermen — ^that is t& 
say, without understanding how the boat, the oars, 
the rudder, etc., ought to be fitted, or how to steer 
or manage a boat in difficulties, or how to rowex- 
cept in a boat and with an oar fitted exactly as it 



w^wr 




ought to be ; but let the beginner not follow this 
example — let him determine to learn how to detect 
and correct any fault in the fittings of a boat, and 
how to row under difficulties. Of course any one 
can row better in a properly-fitted boat than in one 
that is not so ; but grumbling at the boat and fit- 
tings is the sign of a greenhorn ; a good waterman 
should be able to row anywhere and anyhow, and 
at the same time should know how to make the 
best of a good boat and oars when he has got them. 
These arts are only to be acquired by rowing in all 
sorts of boats, by listening to what experienced 
oarsmen have to say on the subject, by always 
looking out to pick up something new and to learn 
something every day. And first let the beginner 




PAIR-OAR. 



FOUR-OAR. 

learn the names and use of every part of a boat and 
of its fittings. 

It should be borne in mind that in order to be- 
come a " first-rate oar " in the light crank boats now 
used for racing purposes, early hours, moderate 
diet, regular and vigorous exercise are imperative 
requirements, and success is only attainable by great 
perseverance, toil and self-denial. A terrible strain 
upon the muscular system is inseparable from a 
closely contested boat-race, and there is no hope of 
success except as a result of special training for the 
task. There is one special compensating result for 
the arduous character of the work, however, and 
that is that the prepa!ratury process is a sure pres- 
ervation from the dissipation incident to youth, for 
excellence in rowing is utterly incompatible with 
any form of vicious indulgence. 




LITTLE ROWERS ON THE RIVER. 



82 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 





♦ 


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n 


^^^4^^^^ 


1 





1 




- -^ '^^^^^_:ilIIaBu^^^fe 



PRACIISING STROKE (l). 

Rowing-boats consist of the bows; the stem, or 
entrance ; the stern, where are the rudder and the 
lines for steering ; the rowlocks, for giving purchase 
to the oars ; and the thwarts, or seats. At the bot- 
tom are the foot-boards, which are easily removed 
in order to bail out any water which may leak into 
the boat. Besides these parts there is a board 
placed across the boat for the feet of the rower, 
called a stretcher. The whole boat is composed of 
one or more planks, called streaks, nailed upon a 
light oak framework, called the timbers, or ribs; 
and the upper streak, upon which the rowlocks are 
placed, is called the wale-streak. Boats with two 
rowlocks opposite each other are called sculling 




boats, and are propelled by a pair of light oars 
called sculls, the art being called "sculling." 
When a boat is fitted with a pair of rowlocks not 
opposite each other, it is called a pair-oared boat. 
If with two in the middle opposite each' other, and 
two others, one before and the other behind, but 
not opposite each other, it is called a randan. 
When a boat has four rowlocks, none of which are 
opposite one another, it is called a four-oared boat, 
and so on up to ten oars, which is the utmost limit 
in common use for any kind of boat but the pleas- 
ure barge, which sometimes has twenty-four oars, 
as in the city barges of London. The rowlock 



nearest the bow is called the bow rowlock, or No. i; 
the next No. 2, and so on ; and the oars used in 
them receive the same number, the one nearest the 
stern being called the " stroke oar." The rowlocks 
in river and sea boats are somewhat different in 
shape, though identical in principle, both consist- 
ing of a square space of about the breadth of a 
man's hand, and both lying on the wale-streak ; but 
in river boats they are generally bounded before and 
behind by a flat piece of oak or ash called, respec- 
tively, the thowl-pin and stopper; while in sea 
boats they are merely common round wooden pins 
dropped into holes made in the wale-streak, but 




still receiving the same names. The thowl-pin is 
for the purpose of pulling the oar against, while 
the stopper prevents the oar from slipping forward 
when the rower is pushing it in that direction after 
the stroke. When the rower rows with an oar in 
each hand, the oars are called sculls, and are 
shorter; when he uses only one oar, it is called an 
oar, and is about thirteen feet five inches long. 

The rower should, as far as possible, take some 
good oarsman for his model, and endeavor to imi- 
tate him in every respect, which is the only mode 
of acquiring a good style. Description is useful in 
putting the learner in the way of acquiring what is 
to be taught, but it is not all-sufficient for the pur- 




ROWING. 



83 



pose. In the first place, the learner should place 
himself square on the seat, with his feet straight 
before him, and the toes slightly turned out. The 
knees may either be kept together or separated 
considerably, the latter being the better mode, as it 
allows the body to come more forward over the 
knees. The feet are to be placed firmly against the 
stretcher, which is to be let out or shortened, to 
suit the length of the individual ; and one foot may 
be placed in the strap which is generally attached 
to the stretcher in modern boats. The oar is then 
taken in hand, raising it by the handle, and then 
either at once placing it in the rowlock, or else first 
dropping the blade flat on the water, and then rais- 
ing the handle it may gently be lowered to its 
place. The hands should both grasp the oar tight- 
ly, the thumbs being underneath the handle of the 




-i-a 



A SPILL. 



are extended, the knuckles will be uppermost. Put 
the oar into the water ivhe7t yoti have stretched 
forward as far as you can, and do this without 
splashing. Let the blade dip " crisply " and easily 
into the water. Then throw your shoulders back 
and pull the hands home close to the body just 




A SCRATCH EIGHT ("PEAL OF BELLS "). 



oar, not above it. Sit straight and upright, not 
lolling over the seat either forward or backward. 
When leaning forward to the stroke, separate the 
knees a little, and keep the arms straight, and do 
not move your hands at all, so that, when the arms 











FEATHER "UISDER" THE WATER. 



below the waist, elbows close to the sides. By 
keeping your hands tightly on the oar and pulling 
back, you will find the knuckles will naturally come 
down and the finger-tips up. Then by dropping 
the wrist neatly you will feather the oar (slip the 
blade out of the water edge upwards) without all 
that excessive wrist action which is so wearisome 
to a novice. Mind you pull hard from start to 
finish, and if you can continue the pull with the 
outside hand close to the side, you will get a longer 
stroke. Bring the oar out of the water smoothly 
and "cleanly," but do not jerk it up, or pull in 
" fits and starts." All rowing should be done 
regularly, in " time," and no good oarsman will pull 
himself back with his head in the air. Pull as far 
back as you can effectively ; but if you go too far, 
you lose " time," and the boat will roll from side to 
side as you resume your " pull." Rowing is done 
from the waist ; the seat and legs should be firm as 
possible, else the boat will roll. 



84 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



In " backing water " the reverse of these actions 
takes place. The oar is first reversed in the row- 
lock and then it is pushed through the water with 
as much power as is needed a.nA picHedthrough. the 
air. When the oars on one side are pulled and 
those on the other are backed, the boat is made to 
turn on its own water. " Holding water " is effected 
by the oars being held in the position of backing 
without rnoving them. 

The essential points in rowing are: ist, To 
straighten the arms before bending the body for- 
ward ; 2d, to drop the oar cleanly into the water : 



them, and called backing w^ter, when the boat re- 
cedes ; or by pulling one side only, on which the 
boat describes a segment of a circle, which is made 
smaller by pulling one oar, and backing the other. 
By means of a rudder the boat is made to take a 
certain course, independent of the rowers, called 
" steering," the chief art in which consists in keep- 
ing the rudder as still as possible, by holding the 
lines " taut," and avoiding pulling them from one 
side to the other more than is absolutely necessary. 
It is not a difficult matter to steer, but there are 
a few instructions to be attended to. First, the po- 




AN AMERICAN RACE. 



3d, to draw it straight through at the same depth ; 
4th, to feather neatly, and without bringing the 
oar out before doing so ; 5th, to use the back and 
shoulders freely, keeping the arms' as straight as 
possible ; and 6th, to keep the eyes fixed upon 
the rower before them, avoiding looking out of the 
boat, by which means the body is almost sure to 
swing backward and forward in a straight line. 

Every boat without a rudder is manoeuvred in the 
water, either by pulling both sides alike, in which 
case it progresses in a straight line, or by revers- 
ing the action of the oars, equally on both sides, 
pushing them through the water instead of pulling 



sition of the coxswain should be easy with legs 
crossed at the ankles so as to separate the knees. 
Grasp the lines firmly so that you can "feel" the 
tiller ; a turn of the line round the hands will give 
the necessary hold. (It is a good plan to fasten the 
lines round you in front.) Lean forward a trifle 
as the boat is pulled. The right-hand line will 
steer to the right, and left to the left, but in all 
cases steer "small." Do not by a long pull at 
the lines turn the boat far to either side. Look well 
ahead and give room for the oars or sculls near a 
bank. In going up stream keep out of the current 
under the bank, and keep inside descending boats. 



ROWING. 



85. 



permitting' towing and following boats to go inside 
of you. In descending keep the centre of the river 
where the stream is usually strongest. The great- 
est pull should be on your " lines " when the oars 
are out of the water ; such a course will lighten the 
rowers' labor. Due allowance should be made for 
the breeze by keeping the boat's head out, and put 
the boat's head up to the " wash " when a steamer 
has passed. 

When a crew are steered by a competent cox- 



over the boat, being able to cause her to be rowed 
slowly or quickly, or to be stopped, backed or 
turned on her own centre. 

It is very essential that a boy should be able to 
scull neatly, and this is only done by practice. The 
first thing is to pull so that your sculls shall not 
"jam " your fingers together, and this can be obvi- 
ated by the beginner by pulling one hand a trifle 
behind the other, till, when you lean back, you 
naturally separate the hands ; or, better still, shift 




A GENERAL VIEW OF THE HENLEY REGATTA, LONDON. 



swain, they ought to be perfectly obedient to his 
commands, rowing exactly as he tells them. His 
orders are communicated by the following words, 
viz.: when desiring his crew to row he says, "Pull 
all ; " or if wishing any one oar to be pulled, he says, 
" Pull bow," or " Pull, No. 3," or 4, etc., as the case 
may be. If they are to stop rowing he says, " Easy 
all," or for any one oar, " Easy bow," or No. 2. The 
same kind of order is conveyed when " backing " or 
" holding water " is desired ; the only variation, as 
before, being between confining his order to any 
one or more oars, or extending it to all. In this 
way all the evolutions practicable on the water are 
managed, and the coxswain has complete control 



the body an inch or two to either side, and the 
hands will clear each other. In beginning the pull, 
lean well forward, dip both sculls at once and to the 
same depth', and not too deep, in the water. The 
only difficulty is in the meeting of the hands, and 
this got over, as explained, the sculler will pull his 
elbows to his hips and his hands just below the 
chest. Feather by slightly lowering the wrists (if 
necessary), and by a quick recovery of the body 
lean forward with straightened arms. Let arms and 
body work together like machinery all the time. 
Jerking will never do. Smoothness and steadi- 
ness are essential to the sculler as well as to the- 



S6 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



SAILING. 



Any object floating on the water will have a 
tendency to drift before the wind ; but a boat, with 
its scientifically constructed hull, sails and rudder, 
can be so guided as to sail with the wind on her 
quarter or abeam, or even close-hauled, as it is 
called — that is, with the wind meeting her at an 
angle of about forty-five degrees. 

Fig. I represents the deck plan of a boat sailing 

close-hauled under two sails. The sails a and b are 

drawn aft with the sheets (ropes) till they form an 

.acute angle with the line of the keel. The wind, 

•«# whose direction is indicated by 

/the arrow w, strikes the sails at 
a very acute angle, so that they 
do not shake, but are just full. 
The result of this pressure on 
the sails is that the boat is pro- 
pelled forward and also side- 
ways away from the wind, mak- 
ing leeway, as it is called. 

If a boat has a deep keel, her 
lateral (or side) resistance to the 
water will cause the leeway to 
be insignificant. If the boat is 
of very shallow draught and so 
offers little lateral resistance to 
the water, she will not go ahead 
at all, and the entire force of 
the wind will be expended in 
driving her bodily to leeward. 
Lee-boards and centre-boards are fitted to shal- 
low boats in order to obviate this. 

The pressure of the wind on the sails, in addition 
to producing the above effects, heels a boat over. 
A sailing-boat is so constructed as to resist this 
tendency to capsize. Either she is made narrow 
and deep and is weighted with ballast as far as pos- 
sible below the water-line, or she is shallow but of 
considerable beam (width). The deep and weighted 
boat will heel over more readily than the beamy 
shallow boat, but the further she heels the greater 
pressure of wind is necessary to make her heel still 
more, for the leverage of her ballast increases as 
■she heels, and many boats with lead upon their 
keels are practically uncapsizable. On the .other 
hand, the beamy shallow boat does not heel so 
readily, but after she has heeled to a certain angle 
she will capsize. 




The pressure of the wind on the sails not only 
propels, drives to leeward and heels over a boat, 
but, unless the sails are absolutely balanced, it tends 
to turn her in one direction or the other. 

In Fig. I we have a boat with two sails. If the 
after sail is the more powerful, it is obvious that 
the wind will drive round that sail and the stern of 
the boat with it in the direction of the arrow C, 
while the head of the boat will run up into the 
wind. If, on the other hand, the head sail be the 
more powerful of the two, the bow will be driven 
off the wind and the boat v/ill bear away. 

The sails of a boat should be so balanced that 
she has a slight tendency to run into the wind; 
and to counteract this weather-helm as it is called, 
the steersman will have to keep the rudder slightly 
to leeward of the line of the keel. 

If a boat carrying weather-helm be left to her own 
devices in a squall she will at once do the right 
thing, luff up into (point towards) the wind and be 
in safety; whereas a boat with too much head-can- 
vas and carrying lee-helm will run off her course 
and put herself in a dangerous position. 

A boat should notgrz'pe — that is, carry too much 
weather-helm — for steering will then be very hard 
and the rudder, forced far over to counteract the 
helm, will act as a serious drag in the water. 

In balancing the sails, it must be remembered that 
the further out a sail is on an extremity of a boat, 
the greater its effect in driving that end of the boat 
off the wind. 

Sometimes a vessel's sails are not properly bal- 
anced because the ballast has not been stowed in 
the right place. It is evident, for instance, that if 
ballast be shifted aft the weather-helm will be 
diminished, for the stern of the boat will draw more 
water and so offer more lateral resistance, whereas 
the stem (bow) of the boat will draw less water and 
will therefore be more easily blown round. A 
centre-board, again, is generally placed well for- 
ward, as it is found that when this is lowered the 
weather-helm of the boat is considerably increased. 

It has been explained that a boat properly con- 
structed and rigged can sail within forty-five de- 
grees of the wind. Now, if it be desired to sail to 
some point more directly to windward than this, 
what is called tacking becomes necessary. This 
consists of sailing a certain distance close hauled 



SAILING. 



87 



with the wind on one side, and then turning round 
and sailing close hauled with the wind on the other 
side. A zigzag course is thus taken, each tack 
being at about right angles to the last. 

One diagram of Fig. 2 illustrates the process of 
tacking with the wind right ahead, and in the other 
diagram the wind is a point or two off, so that one 
tack is longer than the other, there being, in sailor 
language, a short leg and a long leg. 

That the action of the rudder, when forced over 
till it is at an angle with the keel, is to act as a drag 
on that side and so deflect the boat's course, is 
plain enough. But it is not so obvious a fact that 
this action of the rudder in turning the boat is not 




'^., 



.0/ 





to turn her bow round through the water, but to 
push the stern sideways while the bow is almost at 
a standstill. For the centre of rotation of a boat — 
that is, the imaginary pivot on which she turns — is 
always well forward. 

In Fig. 3 A is the centre of rotation. So when 
the rudder is put over to the right, the boat will re- 
volve on the pivot A till she is in the position in- 
dicated by the dotted lines. It will be observed 
that the stern has moved about twice as far as the 
bow. The further forward the centre of rotation 
the greater will this disproportion be. 

It is very important to remember this effect when 
sailing very near any object, such as a buoy, for 
while steering so as to turn the boat's head away 
from the object and avoid it, the stern is made to 




FIG. 3. 



approach the object, and the very action that seems 
calculated to prevent a collision may become the 
cause of one. 

Having shown what are the relations of the sails, 
hull and rudder of a boat to the wind and water, 
and explained how a vessel requires either ballast 
or beam to prevent the 
wind from capsizing her, 
and needs draught to in- 
crease her lateral resistance 
and prevent her from being 
blown to leeward, it re- 
mains to add that the lon- 
gitudinal resistance to the 
water must be diminished / 
as much as possible, so that 1 
the boat can slip easily *' 
through the water and 
travel with speed. 

For this reason a sharp 
stem is put on a vessel, so that she can open a way 
for herself through the water like a wedge, and she 
is given what is called a fine ru7t aft, so that her 
stern will not drag heavily. 

Again, the larger the area of the boat's greatest 
cross-section (Fig. 4), the more resistance that re- 
sults and the slower she will travel. The area of 
the cross-section is diminished by making a boat 
of narrow beam, while the necessary displacement 
is obtained by increased length and depth. 

Now, the difficulty arises that most of the quali- 
ties that insure speed in a boat have a tendency to 
lessen her stability and even her lateral resistance^ 
It follows that, while constructing a boat, a com- 
promise has to be made between these three ; and 
the problem of how to produce the fittest craft 
becomes a very complicat- 
ed one that has never been 
solved yet and probably 
never will be. 

Thus a long, narrow, shal- 
low boat will run the fastest 
before the wind, but she 
will not turn to windward 
at all and will capsize with 
great ease. 




FIG. 4. 



As it is recognized that beam is opposed to speed, 
it has long been the fashion in England to con- 
struct racing yachts extremely narrow and of great 
draught. Such boats do attain speed, but at the 
expense of all comfort and when a heavy sea is 
running go through it instead of over it. 

To come to the opposite extreme, there is the 



88 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



flat-bottomed very shallow and very beamy craft, 
with a deck plan not unlike a flat-iron — a veritable 
skimming-dish. Provided with a centre-board, 
such a boat is well adapted for shallow and sheltered 
waters. The centre-board can be raised while 
crossing a shoal and the boat will then draw only 
as many inches as a deep-keel boat of her size 
would draw feet. She will be very fast in smooth 
water, but in rough water she will pound heavily 
into the seas and, having no good hold of the water 
and little momentum, will lose her headway and 
soon prove dangerous. 

For real comfort and seaworthiness — and some 
now maintain for racing purposes as well — a boat 
that is something between these two extremes 
answers the best ; that is, a boat that is moderately 
beamy and has a moderate draught of water. This 
compromise between the deep-keel and the centre- 
board types of boat has long been popular in 
America, and probably the victories of our yachts 
, constructed on these principles over the English 
crack deep-keelers will gradually modify British 
views on this subject. Most Englishmen maintain 
that a long hole through the bottom of a boat must 
weaken ^her; that the great strain ! of the centre- 
board, concentrated as it is on one small portion of 
the keel, must render a large craft thus fitted ill- 
adapted to buffet with a really heavy sea. American 
builders, on the other hand, emphatically deny that 
a centre-board is a cause of weakness and point to 
our stanch pilot vessels and trading schooners, 
which are all provided with centre-boards and which 
are exposed to every sort of weather. 

It is unnecessary to dwell on this controversy; 
for though there is much divergence of opinion as 
regards large craft, there can be no question as to 
the advantages of fitting centre-boards into many 
kinds of small craft, especially in those that are 
intended for river sailing. 

The theory of sailing thus set forth applies to 
boats with one sail as well as those with two, and 
to the smallest as well as to the largest. Row-boats 
are often fitted with a movable mast so as to be 
used for sailing as well as rowing. Or a clever boy 



can put up a mast for himself and rig a sail that will 
answer his purpose as well as a more expensive 
craft. A block with a hole in it just large enough 
to rest the foot of the mast should be securely fas- 
tened in the bottom of the boat well forward. Di- 
rectly over this, from gunwale to gunwale, a board 
should be nailed, with a similar hole for the mast to 
pass through so as to steady it. This mast and its 
accompanying sail can thus be easily slipped out 
and placed in the bottom of the boat during a calm 
or when one wishes to row, and put up again if a 
breeze springs up. A rudder can be readily shaped 
out of any flat piece of board — or the steering at a 
pinch can be done by an oar. When a sail-boat is 
thus improvised out of a row-boat, a " false keel " 
should be attached by fastening a long board edge- 
wise to the bottom of the boat. 

It is taken for granted that no boy, or man either 
for that matter, will start out in such a boat or in 
any boat until he has learned its practical manage- 
ment from an experienced sailor. One lesson will 
not suffice ; he must have had many lessons before 
he can safely trust himself alone in a boat. The 
first time he attempts the management himself his 
teacher should be with him to aid him by sugges- 
tions and to lend a hand if needed. Water is so 
uncertain an element ; storms may arise so suddenly 
that only a thorough master of seamanship should 
venture any distance from shore in a sailing vessel 
of any description. 

Npt only should one understand how to sail a 
boat before attempting to do so by himself, he 
ought also to learn to swim before going on the 
water at all. The art is so easily acquired that 
there is little or no excuse for any one's remaining 
in ignorance of it. However good a sailor the mas- 
ter of the boat may be, it is always possible for 
accidents to occur, and then a knowledge of swim- 
ming may enable one to save the lives of others as 
well as his own life. Therefore, the two most im- 
portant rules for the would-be yachtsman to observe 
are : first, learn to swim before going into any boat ; 
and secondly, learn how to manage a boat before 
assuming charge of it. 



CANOEING. 



89 



CANOEING. 



Despite the assertion of even so great an au- 
thority as Mr. Macgregor, whose name has now be- 
come a household word, canoeing is an amusement 
that must necessarily involve a considerable amount 
of danger and ought to be indulged in by no one 
who has not, according to the school phrase, 
passed in swimming. Whether or not it is a very 
comfortable means of locomotion is purely a matter 



is to be accounted for, and must receive as much 
consideration as the baggage that is to be carried. 
Oak is the best wood that can be used, with the top 
streak of mahogany and the deck of fine cedar. 
These were the materials of the Rob Roy (Mr. Mac- 
gregor's famous boat), and as her weight with all 
her fittings was only 71 lbs., it would be unreasona- 
ble to want one lighter; indeed, for anything like 




of personal feeling; but in face of the fact that the 
American and English canoe clubs now number 
many hundreds of members it is only fair to sup- 
pose that those who venture enjoy the mode of lo- 
comotion. 

In having a canoe built, it is a matter of consider- 
able moment that in certain portions of its frame- 
work it should be constructed for and peculiarly 
adapted to the particular person who is going to 
use it. The length of the foot decides the height 
the canoe should be from keel to deck ; the length 
of the legs the space required for the " well ; " while 
the weight, of course, decides the displacement that 



knocking about, flimsy canoes are utterly and 
entirely useless and only aggravate the labor of 
paddling. The length over all should be 14 feet ; 
beam, 26 inches ; depth, from top of deck to bottom 
of keel, 12 inches, though towards the gunwale this 
is reduced to Z% inches. The well should be 33 
inches long and 20 broad, and protected by a comb- 
ing of oak half an inch in height. If the canoe is 
intended for travelling purposes, the beam should 
be 6 inches abaft midships ; so that when stores, 
provisions, sails and so on are stowed away for- 
ward it brings the craft to very nearly an even 
keel. Otherwise, it should only be i foot abaft 



90 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



midships. The boards that compose the floor, and 
on which you have to sit, resting your back against 
the baclcboard, are about two feet long, and are 
fitted so that the knees just touch the combing, 
while the heels are against the footboard on the 
keel, thus obviating the discomfort that would fol- 
low on having to keep the legs stretched out 
straight at full length. As it is taken for granted 
that no one would think of going to the expense of 
having a canoe built without securing the ser- 
vices of some one who could supply him with 
the many minor details that it would be im- 
possible to give here, less important matters need 
not be entered into ; only it should be added that 
a comfortable backboard, after the following pat- 
tern, goes a long way to lightening the labor of pad- 
dling. It should be made of two strips of oak, i8 



while — in fact, until he is thoroughly at home in his 
craft and the way to manoeuvre her. Spruce-fir is 
the best wood of which to have it made, as it com- 
bines lightness and durability, two qualities that 
can be readily appreciated after a day's locomotion. 
The action, though it may not be violent, except in 
currents and so on, is very fatiguing, owing to the 
motion the body takes from side to side. At the 
same time, practice will prove to the novice that he 
requires to move but very little from one side to 
the other. There can of course be no harm in hav- 
ing a mast fitted to your canoe, and as soon as you 
feel capable of the risk, set it up, hoist your sail 
and — be prepared to capsize. This latter alternative 
is only added by way of warning. With caution 
nothing of the sort need happen, for the stiffness 
of canoes under sail in a strong wind and heavy 




inches long, 23^ inches wide, arched by two cross- 
pieces, one of which should be grooved, so as to 
rest on the combing, and work after the fashion of 
a hinge, it being fastened thereon by a stout cord. 
The result is that the muscles down the back are 
supported and rested while the spine is left free. 
The greatest possible care should be taken in se- 
lecting the apron, which is too often left to the 
last moment and chosen in a hurry. Being in- 
tended to prevent the water making its way over 
the deck into the well, and at the same time to 
avoid being fastened in any way likely to impede 
the canoeist in case of an upset, it may readily be 
understood that it requires nice discrimination and 
handiwork. It should fit close to him — in short, he 
should be measured for it as for a coat. 

The novice in canoeing should be content with 
propelling himself by the aid of his paddle for a 



weather has been satisfactorily proved on more 
than one occasion. 

In learning the management of a canoe practical 
instruction is as indispensable as in all other kinds 
of boats and in most occupations and amusements 
of life. A few hints, however, may be of service and 
are therefore given. 

First. It is almost absolutely necessary that the 
canoeist should learn to swim. An upset in a canoe 
is not a pleasant thing, and at any rate a knowledge 
of swimming is always useful. Therefore learn to 
swim. 

Secondly. On entering the canoe, be steady. 
Step into it in the centre, and put the feet down 
quietly. You can then seat youself slowly, keeping 
the body as straight as possible, and then straight- 
ening the legs. 

Thirdly. Hold the paddle ^rwz/c — a slip may be 



CANOEING. 



91 



fatal ; hands not too far apart. A steady stroke is 
necessary at first; afterwards you can try quick 
paddling. No nervousness or sudden jerking must 
enter into catioeing work. Perfect self-possession 
and movement only of the arms, till practice has 
made you perfect, are strictly enjoined. Have an 
attendant at first ; it will give you confidence, and 
his instruction will be of much assistance. Do not 
overdo your first trials, and look well ahead for 
snags and other partly submerged obstructions, 
which to a beginner appear sometimes formida- 
ble. 

Lastly. Practise. Let the blade of the paddle 
drop into the water as near the side of the canoe as 
you can, but not deep in the water, and go ahead 
with a long and steady " draw." 

The true canoeist must not only learn how to 
paddle and how to sail ; for paddling and sailing, 
to quote the words of an expert " are only branch- 
es of canoeing. He must learn to be a boat- 
builder, for he may at any time have to repair his 
own canoe himself. He must learn to be a sail- 
maker, for he will always be trying to make im- 
provements in the rig of his canoe. He must learn 
to cook — in which science are included the prob- 



lems of building a fire with wet wood and of find- 
ing provisions in a wilderness. He must learn 
geography with a minuteness with which only the 
man can learn who personally explores streams 
on which no boat except a canoe, has ever float- 
ed. He must learn the art of running rapids and 
detecting at a glance where the channel through 
them lies — an art, which, more than any other 
art or any known science, develops decision of 
character. He must learn that wet and cold and 
heat and damp are of no consequence, and can 
even be made sources of delight. And, above all, 
he must learn to bear with the infirmities of the 
canoeist who cruises in company with him, and 
never to shirk his rightful turn of duty in connec- 
tion with scouring the frying-pan." 

The canoeist is at once the captain, pilot, crew, 
steward and cook of his little craft all in one. He 
paddles when not sailing ; steers with his feet, 
trims the sails when not paddling, and, in fact, he 
is " monarch of all he surveys " from the seat in the 
centre of his canoe. The sport is a most healthful 
one and can be enjoyed from May to September 
in the Eastern States and Canada, and nearly all 
the year round in the South. 




92 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



MINIATURE YACHTING. 




The building of miniature yachts, together with 
the rigging and sailing of them on the park, ponds 
of our large cities, has come to be as favorite a 
pastime with American boys as it is on the park 
ponds in London. It affords the most exciting 
kind of sport to the boys, and in itself is a recre- 
ation which presents an ample field for the de- 
velopment of mechanical skill and ingenuity in 
the construction of the little vessels, besides which 
it fosters a love of yachting, and it is very instruc- 
tive in affording information in the building of 
model yachts and in the method of sailing them. 
At the Brooklyn Prospect Park the sixty-acre lake 
is set apart for the use of owners of miniature 
yachts, and it is surprising how many " old salts " 
there are, who have for years been to sea in the 
mercantile marine, and who take interest in these 



miniature yacht races, teaching the boys how to 
sail their yachts, besides helping them to con- 
struct them. At Conservatory Lake at Central 
Park, New York, too, these little yachts are al- 
lowed to sail. The sport has come from England, 
where miniature yachting is quite a feature of the 
sports of London boys. In fact, the little yacht 
regattas which take place on the Serpentine Lake 
in Hyde Park each summer are quite important 
events. The Royal Model Yacht Club is presided 
over by the Prince of Wales, and the royal family 
generally have taken great interest in the pro- 
ceedings on these occasions. Some of the yachts 
belonging to this club are valued at ^looo, and yet 
they do not exceed five feet in length. The 
regattas are sailed for twelve guinea cups, and the 
events are quite exciting at times. There are over 
a dozen of these model yacht clubs in London, 
and the leading club, learning of the establishment 
of a similar organization in New York not long ago, 
sent a communication over to New York desiring 
information looking to an international contest 
with miniature yachts. The subject may seem a 
trifling one at a cursory glance, but the influence of 
these miniature yacht associations in cultivating a 
taste for nautical knowledge, and especially in giv- 
ing opportunities for testing new models, is such 
as to make the organizations worthy of support and 
encouragement. 




FISHING. 



93 



FISHING, 



In days gone by, with rare exceptions, the Ameri- 
can angler was a mere novice in the Waltonian art. 
A bamboo cane, a thirty-foot line, a simple leaden 
sinker, and a couple of common hooks attached to 




years ago a boyish sport has become a pastime as 
popular with the wealthy and cultivated class of 
American society as it is in England. Here in 
America we have an immense advantage in pisca- 
torial resources over every other nation in the 
world, inasmuch as the extent of our country 
and its range of climate admits of fishing all 
the year round. Our ardent anglers can throw 
their lines for game fish from January to De- 
cember, in either one State or the other of 
our great republic. Hence, our facilities 
for game fishing are greater than in any 
other land on the face of the globe. 
Salmon in the Penobscot in Maine, 
muscalonge in the large lakes, 
striped bass on the shores of the 
Atlantic at Newport and other 
: watering-places, and "sheeps- 
^.: 2 _ head" and " snappers" in the 

^, Florida bays, are among the 

, ^c£f largest of our American 

r- game fish, the salmon 

- ''^■■" .„ ranging as high as forty 

^. pounds, muscalonge at 

times reaching a 
weight of as much as 



.J^ 



cord snells, composed the "'■' 

outfit of the old amateur 
fisherman. This majority class 
of the angling fraternity of some 
twenty-five years ago used to smile 
rather superciliously at the expen- 
sive rods, the delicate lines, the vari- 
<;ty of hooks and the elaborate prepa- '"''-'s., 

rations generally made by the scientific '\'s!^'':. 
and practised angler to tempt game fish ,.-'' 
from their native element. Now all this is .^'il— — '^ 
changed. Angling has become an art as 
much practised in this country as in Eng- 
land. We have our anglers' clubs and our fisher- 
men tourists, who make the sport a specialty. 
We now also have our regular seasons for the vari- 
ous kirds of game fish, and what was some twenty 




fifty pounds, and the large bass frequently turning 
the scale at seventy or eighty pounds ; while the 
. Southern sheepshead will range in the twenties and 
snappers exceed at times that weight. Then to 



94 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



these monsters for line fishing are to be added the 
angler's pets — the beautiful and palatable brook 
trout and the river bass — together with the weak- 
jish and the infinite variety of fish for sea-coast 
anglers ; while the lakes provide an abundance of 
pickerel, black bass, perch, etc. In catching these 
game fish, rods and tackle of infinite variety are 
used, from the heavy salmon and bass rod to the 
delicate, whip-like rod of the trout-fly fisherman. 




Fishing rods are made of bamboo cane, hazel, 
hickory and other kinds of wood. They are of 
different lengths, some fitted as walking-sticks and 
others made to pack in canvas bags. The bamboo 
ones are the best for general angling; but those 
made of white cane are much superior for fine fish- 
ing, being very light in weight and at the same time 
very stiff. 

In choosing a rod, observe that it is perfectly 
straight when all the joints are put together and 
that it gradually tapers from the butt to the top, 
and is from twelve to sixteen feet long. A bad rod 
is likely to snap in striking a heavy fish. Rods 
fitted with several tops are at once the best and 
most convenient. Some anglers have one rod for 
trolling, another for barbel, perch or other heavy 
fish, as well as one for fly-fishing, but a thoroughly 
good rod will answer as well for all purposes. 

A good trolling rod should be made of the choi- 
cest stout and well-seasoned bamboo cane, from 
fourteen to sixteen feet in length. When trolling 
with the gorge, or live-bait fishing, a long rod is 
necessary, to enable the angler to drop in his baited 
hook over high sedges, rushes, etc., as also when 
the water is bright, for he should then keep as far 
away from it as he can, which a long rod enables 
him to do while dipping, casting or spinning his 
bait. If either a jack or pike see him, it is very 
rare indeed that it will take the bait ; and again, 
with a long rod you will be able to drop your baited 
hock in some very likely place for jack or pike, 
such as a small hole, division or clear place among 
a bed of weeds, in a river or any other water where 
there are any weeds. 

There is some difference of opinion among an- 
glers about the number of rings necessary for troll- 
ing rods ; those who have their line on a thumb- 



winder, or on a bank-runner, seldom place more 
than two or three rings on their rod, and others 
have only one large ring at the top ; but if a winch 
is used, there should be a ring to every joint includ- 
ing the butt ; make each ring of double twist wire, 
fixed so as always to stand out, and nearly large 
enough to admit the top of your little finger ; the 
top joint should have two rings, the top one nearly 
three times the size of the others; this prevents 
any obstruction of the line running, which is of 
material consequence. When not in use, rods 
should be kept nicely stowed in a moderately dry 
place, and they ought to be well scraped and re- 
varnished every three years; should the joints be- 
come loose by shrinking, they should be slightly 
moistened. Should any accident befall a rod while 
fishing, and you should not have a spare top with 
you, your only remedy will be to splice your rod. 
To do this the ends of the broken pieces for about 
two inches must be laid parallel to each other, and 
then tightly bound together with waxed silk or 
very strong yellow hempen twine. 

Next to the rod the line is of the utmost impor- 
tance. Good lines should be well twisted. The 
twisted lines should be made wholly of silk, or silk 
hair, but those made of gut are the strongest and 
best for young anglers; the twisted hair are the 
cheapest, and the single horsehair the finest. The 
young angler will find a line of about four yards 
in length the most useful. A single gut line, with 
a small porcupine float, is commonly useful for 
general fishing; the plaited silk lines are the best 
for trolling, and are less inclined to break or tan- 
gle than the twisted. 

The line must be shotted that the float may par- 
tially sink in the water; and in putting on the 
shots place them altogether within three inches 
of the bottom loop of the line ; to which loop fix 
the loop of the hair or gut to which the hook is 
tied. When you make a line of silk, gut or hair, 
remember it must be always finest at the bottom, 
where the hook is fastened, very gradually increas- 
ing in thickness 
to the top. 

There are vari- 
ous kinds of floats, 
each adapted for . 
different kinds of 
fishing. The prin- 
cipal are (i) tip- 
capped floats, (2) cork floats and (3) plugged floats. 
The tip-capped floats are made of several pieces 
of quills, or of reed for the middle and ivory 




FISHING. 



95 



or tortoise shell for the top and bottom, and nar- 
row at each end, gradually increasing in circumfer- 
ence to the middle. They are superior to all others 
for angling in waters which are not very rapid, 
particularly in roach fishing, as the least movement 
or fine bite sinks them below the water. Cork 
floats are generally made of quills at the top, with 
a piece of cork, which is burned or bored in the 
middle to admit the quill and then filed or ground 
down smooth and painted. The bottom is plugged 
with wood and has a ring to allow the line to pass 
through. Cork floats are most suitable for fishing 
in heavy or rapid streams, as they require a great 
many shot to sink them and this weight of shot 
prevents the baited hook from passing too rapidly 
over the bottom. They are of various sizes and 
forms ; instead of common quills the quills of the 
porcupine are sometimes introduced and these 
make an excellent strong float. A tapering cork 
is usually preferable to a round one. The cheapest 
floats are the plugged ones. They are made of in- 
different quills, some of them of one goose quill 
with a wooden plug at the bottom from which they 
take their name. There is little to recommend 
them excepting their cheapness as, they easily 
loosen by the plug coming out and so cause a good 
deal of annoyance. 

A reel or winch is a most necessary addition 
to the rod and line, as it enables you to vary the 
length of your line at pleasure, and to play your 
fish. The best winches 
are those made to be fixed 
in a groove on the rod, 
and which are fastened 
with brass ferrules made 
for the purpose on the 
butt, because you can fast- 
en such a winch to any 
sized joint. 

There are three kinds of winches, check, multi- 
pliers and plain ; the multiplying winch is apt soon 
to get out of order, unless carefully and constantly 
oiled, and is otherwise the least efficient and most 
expensive of the three. Young anglers are recom- 
mended, at first, to purchase a plain and strong 
winch, which will answer every purpose, and be 
much less expensive. A check winch is, however, 
the best. 

Reel lines are mostly made of silk and horsehair, 
twisted or plaited together, but some are made en- 
tirely of silk. The latter is preferable, as it is less 
likely to twist, runs more freely and is not so apt 
to rot. The length of lines varies from fifteen to 




eighty yards ; but for general purposes thirty or 
five-and-thirty yards is quite long enough. The 
line should always be unwound after a day's fishing, 
as, if it is allowed to remain wet on the reel, it soon 
rots. 

Hooks can be bought of all sizes, suitable for 
every kind of fish to be caught. There are many 
controversies among adept anglers about them, 
and these are sometimes as violent as those upon 
politics or religion. The hooks found most suit- 
able for the following fish are these : 



Barbel, 1,7, 8, 9. 
Bleak, 11, 11, 13. 
Bream, 10. 
Carp, 7, 8, 9. 
Chub, 8, 9. 
Dace, 10, II, 12. 
Eels, 8. 
Flounders, 3. 
Grayling, 10, 12. 
Gudgeon, 9, 10. 



Loaches, 13. 
Miller's thumb, 13, 
Minnow, 13. 
Perch, 7. 

Roach, 10, II, 12. 
Rudd, 10. 
Ruffe, 10. 
Smelt, 9, 10. 
Tench, 9, lo. 
Trout, 6, 10. 



To bait a hook with a worm, use the following 
method : First enter the point of the hook close 
to the top of the worm's head, and carry it care- 
fully down to within a quarter of an inch of its tail ; 
to do which you must gently squeeze or work up 
the worm with your left thumb and finger, while 
with your right you are gradually working the 
hook downwards. The small lively piece of the 
worm at the point of the hook moving about will 
entice the fish ; but, mind, if too much of the 
worm hangs loose, though it may entice fish to 
nibble, j'et they will seldom take the whole in their 
mouth, so as to enable the angler to hook them ; 
on the contrary, he is frequently tantalized with a 
bite, and, when he strikes, finds part of his worm 
gone, and his fish too. Therefore, to bait a hook 
well with a worm is necessary to insure hooking a 
fish when you strike ; and it consists in drawing 
the worm without injuring it (use him as you 
would a friend, Walton says) quite over and up the 
shank of the hook, leaving only a small lively part 
of the tail below. If you bait with half a worm, 
choose the tail end, and enter the point of the hook 
into the top part, and bring it down nearly to tne 
end of the tail, leaving only a very small piece of it 
loose. If you bait with two worms on the same 
hook, draw the. first up above the shank, while you 
put the second on in the same manner as directed 
with one worm, but enter the hook near the tail of 
the second worm ; then draw the first one down on 
the second over the shank of the hook, and all will 



g6 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



then be well covered, and the bait will be a very 
bon-bon for perch, chub, carp, barbel and all large 
fish ; but when angling for gudgeon and other 
small fish half a red worm is sufficient, and the tail 
end is best. If blood-worms are used, put on two 
or three, in doing which be tender, or you will 
burst them. 



BAITS. 



The principal baits are : 

1. The Lob-worm. 

2. The Brandling. 

3. The Marsh-worm. 

4. The Tagtail. 

5. The Ash-grub. 

6. Cowdung bait. 

7. Caterpillars. 

8. Cabbage-worms. 

9. Crab-tree-worms. 



10. Gentles. 

11. Cad-worms. 
13. Flag-worms. 

13. Grasshoppers. 

14. Wasp-grub. 

15. Cockchafers. 

16. Bread paste. 

17. Cheese paste. 



To scour and preserve worms the angler should 
provide himself with a quantity of fresh moss. 
Wash out all the earth and squeeze it, but not too 
dry ; then put it into a jar and squeeze it lightly 
down and throw in the worms upon it. The jar 
should be kept in a cool place in summer and the 
moss changed once in three or four days. 

The landing-hook or gaff is a large hook, which 
is sometimes barbed like a fish-hook, and sometimes 
plain, fastened to one end of a handle ; this latter 
is occasionally composed of several pieces, which 
run one into' another, like the slides of a telescope. 




A landing-net is a small net mounted on an iron 
ring, which is fastened, like the landing-hook, to 
the end of a handle or pole. 

The clearing-line is made of several yards of 
strong small cord, to the end of which is fastened a 
heavy ring of lead or brass. If the hook should get 
fast in a heavy weed, post or anything else, this 
ring is put over the butt of the rod, and suffered to 
slip down the line to the hook. The rod should be 
held in the right hand, the top pointing downwards, 
the clearing-line in the left; the ring falling on the 
hook, from its weight, generally clears the hook 
from what it may have struck against. If not, the 
angler should hold the rod firmly and draw the line 



sideways and break away. In this case, the angler 
seldom loses more than a hook, if he acts as above 
directed ; but without the assistance of a clearing- 
line he frequently loses his float as well as his hook 
and line, and sometimes breaks his top joint. The 
brass clearing-rings are to be preferred because 
they are jointed, and in consequence can be used 
when the angler has a winch in his rod, in which 
case the leaden ring could not be passed over the 
winch. 

The drag is a piece of iron with three or four 
stout wire hooks without barbs, placed back to 
back, fastened to a strong cord line, and which is 
used to draw away weeds. 

The bank-runner is mostly used in the day-time, 
when the angler is fishing for roach, barbel, etc. 
It is stuck in the bank, the bottom being strong 
turned wood, sharpened for the purpose, with a 
winder at the top for the line, which should be 
from forty to sixty yards long, made of silk, thin 
cord, or plaited Dutch twine. But there should be 
a cork and bullet to the line, and the bait a dace 
or gudgeon, which should swim about mid-water. 

The disgorger is an instrument with a forked top, 
about six inches long, made of iron, brass or bone. 
Its use is to get the hook from a fish when swal- 
lowed ; and in using it the forked end is thrust 
down upon the swallowed hook with one hand, 
while the line is held tight with the other : pressure 
disgorges the hook, and it is then easily drawn out. 
In attempting to get a gorged hook from a fish 
without this instrument, you run a hazard of break- 
ing the hook and hurting yourself. When the fish 
is hooked through the lip, the angler has only to 
hold the fish steadily m one hand, while with the 
other he carefully disengages the hook. 

ANGLING AXIOMS. 

1. Never fish any water without leave from the 
proprietor, unless it be water that is free to all 
comers. 

2. Never use unfair bait, or attempt to take fish 
in any but a fair and sportsman-like manner. 

3. Never start on a day's fishing without first con- 
sidering the wind, weather and water. 

4. Never let your shadow fall on the water. 

5. Use the finest tackle of which your fishing will 
admit. 

6. Never begin bottom fishing without first 
plumbing the depth. 

7. Never intrude upon another fisherman's water. 

8. And always remember that nothing is lost by 
politeness. 



BOWLING. 



97 



BOWLING. 



Though bowling in reality is an in-door game, 
yet it is so active an exercise and is practised so 
much more by boys and men than by girls and 
women, that it is thought it should properly find a 
a place in this volume. It is by no means, however, 
exclusively a masculine amusement. Girls and 
women belong to many bowling-clubs and enjoy 
the sport almost, if not quite, as much as do their 
brothers and husbands. But the sterner sex forms 
undoubtedly a majority of bowlers, and so the 
game is placed among the boys' pastimes. 

Fifty years ago it was the most popular sport for 



once more established in public favor, and it has 
become a feature of fashionable recreation at the 
prominent watering-places in summer and in the 
cities during the winter. There is but one draw- 
back to it, and that is that it exercises the muscles 
of one side of the body too much, especially those 
of the right side of the chest and right arm. When 
either arm can be used with equal facility, the sport 
is a valuable exercise for health. 

A bowling-alley is usually about sixty feet long 
and about five feet wide. It should be made of 
very hard wood and be perfectly level. At each 




an all-the-year-round game in our large cities. Es- 
pecially was it a favorite in New York, where in 
1840 there was scarcely a block on Broadway, from 
Barclay to Bleecker Street, which had not its bowl- 
ing alley. American bowling differs from the old 
English game of "skittles," which was played on 
an alley on which nine pins were laid in diamond 
form. This game came under the ban of the law 
in this country years ago, during a Puritan crusade 
against " ye wicked sport of bowling," and the law 
was evaded by substituting ten pins, set up on a 
triangle instead of a diamond, and now this is the 
"scientific" game of bowling. Twenty-odd years 
ago saw bowling almost " played out " as a popular 
game in this country, but of late years it has ob- 
tained a renewed existence, having been started 
on a new lease of life by the German residents o' 
Brooklyn, who introduced large balls containing 
finger holes in them, by which the bowlers were en- 
abled to impart a bias to the balls. The game is 



side of the alley is a gutter leading into the pit 
(beyond the end of the alley) into which the pins are 
knocked and the balls roll. Alongside of the alley 
an inclined trough is placed to enable whoever sets 
up the pins to return the balls to the player. 

Four pins are placed in a row near the edge of 
the pit ; in front of these three others stand, in 
front of them two more are set ; and the tenth 
pin forms a row by itself in advance of all the rest, 
being the apex of the pyramid or triangle and 
closest to the player. Near the head of the alley a 
line is drawn across it, beyond which the bowler is 
not allowed to step in delivering the balls. The 
balls are made of hard wood and vary in size to suit 
the taste and strength of the players. 

Each bowler has ten turns (or " frames " as they 
ire called), alternating with the others. At each 
turn he rolls three balls and scores for that frame 
as many pins as the three balls knock down. 
(None of the pins are set up again until the three 



98 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



balls have all been rolled.) Should the whole ten 
fall before his first two balls, he makes what is 
known as a " spare ; " if his first ball brings them 
all down, it is a " strike." Either event counts him 
ten, with one or two balls, as the case may be, yet 
to be rolled. These remaining balls are not rolled 
at once. Nor is it customary to record the score of 
a spare or strike as soon as made. But when the 
turn of the bowler comes round again to play he 
adds to the ten previously made the number of pins 
then knocked over by his first ball, if it is a spare 
he is completing, or by his first two balls, if he is 
working out a strike, and the total is then placed on 
the frame score. In addition to this he of course 
scores what he makes on his three balls when com- 
pleting his spare or strike. For example, if a play- 
er makes a spare, say at his first frame, he puts on 
the score board simply some mark (usually this, /), 
to indicate the spare. At his next turn he knocks 
over perhaps five pins on his first ball, two on his 
second and one on his third. He then records 
fifteen for his previous frame and eight more for 
the present one. Should he make two strikes in 
succession, he cannot complete the record of the 
first one until his turn comes round for a third 
play. (Strikes are commonly indicated on the 
frame by the mark of a cross, thus X.) 

Clubs including many members, where a dozen or 
twenty players take part in a game, often roll only 
two balls to a frame. This is done, as is the method 
of playing off spares and strikes, to shorten the 
length of the contest, which otherwise would be 
tediously long. Of course its effect is to reduce the 
total score which the average player will make on 
his ten frames, though it is possible, if a spare or 
strike is made at every turn, to reach as high a 
count in a two-ball game as in one in which the 
full number is rolled. Time is also saved by 
using two alleys instead of one ; in fact, this is real- 
ly essential to comfort where four or more partici- 
pate in the contest. 

Two, four or any even number of persons can 



play the game. They are divided into two sides, 
an equal number on each side, and the party whose 
total score in the ten frames aggregates the most 
wins the game. Sometimes an odd number take 
part, but as this causes unequally matched sides it 
is undesirable. The highest possible score for an 
individual to make is ten strikes, which would net 
him three hundred points — a maximum, it is hardly 
necessary to add, that is rarely attained. Two 
hundred is a good average, though many bowlers 
can be depended upon in matches to regularly run 
up two hundred and fifty and a few even two 
hundred and seventy-five. 

In rolling the balls they should not be thrown or 
dropped so as to bump along the alley. It is best 
to hold the ball with the arm hanging down and 
swinging slightly. By thus swinging the ball and 
running a few steps with it, sufficient impetus can 
be given it to enable it to knock over all the pins 
if it strikes them properly. The eye should be 
fixed upon the head-pin, which should be struck a 
trifle to the right or left of its centre. This causes 
the ball to deflect a little from its straight course 
and so knock over the pins on one side, while the 
head-pin will fall over towards the opposite side 
and push over the remaining pins there. Expert 
players can also give the ball a twist as they roll it, 
the effect of which when it strikes the pins is to 
twirl them around as they fall and so make them do 
more damage among the ones not actually hit by 
the ball. Pins knocked over by a ball rebounding 
from the back of the pit must be reset and do 
not score. The same regulation applies to pins 
knocked over by " dead men " (other fallen pins), 
when this is caused by a ball in the gutter striking 
the " dead men." Generally speaking when a ball 
rolls into the gutter before striking any standing 
pin, no pins knocked down by it are counted. 

When two alleys are used it is customary to ex- 
change alleys at the end of each game ; and in 
matches between different clubs this is done after 
each frame. 



RACKETS. 



99 



RACKETS. 



A RACKET court resembles a hand-ball court, 
just as the game of rackets resembles hand-ball; 
but it is larger, and can be erected only at a con- 
siderable cost. Hence, it is for the most part only 
in the large cities that a racket court can be found. 





FRONT 


WALL 




A 




B 


C 

BACK 


D 

WALL 



These courts are of various sizes, ranging from fifty 
to fully eighty feet in length, and from thirty to 
forty feet wide, with a very high roof and a back 
wall of less height, having at the top of it a gallery 
for spectators, who can thus look into the court 
from above. Across the front wall, which is black, 
is fixed a board, or balk, about two feet two inches 
high, and a white line, called the " cut " line, is also 
traced across it, about seven feet nine inches or 
eight feet above the floor. 

The floor itself, which should be of smooth stone, 
asphalt, or concrete, perfectly level, is divided into 
sections, as shown in the diagram. About half way 
down the court, but nearer to the back wall than 
the front, a line is marked parallel to those walls ; 
and the back part so markec off is divided into two 
equal portions, C and d, by a line traced at right 
angles to the back wall. The two small spaces 
marked a and B are service spaces, within which 
the person who serves must place one or both of his 
feet. The balls are not more than half the size of 
hand-balls, and are played with " rackets," a pe- 



culiar kind of bat, like a battledore, with strong cat- 
gut laced crosswise through the frame. 

The game is begun by one of the players (the 
server) striking the ball against the front wall, above 
the white line, so as to fall, without bounding, into 
the back court opposite. Thus, if he stands at A, 
he must strike the ball into D, where it must be 
taken by one of the players on the other side, 
either at the volley or at first bound. If, in serv- 
ing, the ball is struck against the side wall, or roof, 
or floor, before it hits the front wall, or if it is 
served below the balk line, or is struck so hard as 
to go out of court, it is a " hand out " — that is to 
say, the striker loses his innings. If the ball is 
served from the wrong place, or if it hits the front 
wall above the balk line, but below the white one, 
or if, after properly hitting the front wall, it fall in- 
to any but the right court, or hit the roof or gallery 
without going out of court, it is a " fault," and the 
person to whom it is served is not obliged to take 
it. He may do so, however ; and if he does, the 
game proceeds as if it had been properly served. 
Should he attempt to take it, and fail, the server 
then scores an ace ; and the same result follows 
whenever his opponent or opponents fail to return 
the ball above the lower line. When an ace is won, 
the man in goes over from A to B, and then " serves 
left " — that is to say, into court c. The out-players 
stand behind the server while the ball is being 
served and taken ; and afterwards the usual ar- 
rangement is that the server shall take all the balls 
which fall inside the cross line, and his partner 
shall take all which fall farther back. The man 
who is served to, on the other side, takes all which 
fall in the back courts, while his partner attends to 
those which fall nearer the front wall. The game 
is made up of fifteen aces, and after the first player 




is put out, the others succeed one another in order, 
each pair of partners having to be put out before 
the other side goes in. Thus, supposing that M and 
N are playing against X and Y, and that M and X 
are both better players than their respective part- 
ners. The question which side shall go in first is 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



usually decided, not by tossing a coin as in cricket, 
but in the following way : It will be discovered, on 
looking closely at a racket, that at the thin end of 
it, nearest the handle, the strings which cross the 
frame from edge to edge are twisted round the 
other which go lengthwise, so as to project on one 
side or face of the racket, and give it a " rough " 
appearance, whereas on the other side they do not 
project, but are " smooth." When, therefore, it is 
required to decide as to innings, one of the players 
holds his racket downward with the handle between 
his finger and thumb, so that the top part of it 
rests on the floor of the court. He then gives it a 
spin, and lets it fall, while one of the adversaries in 
the meantime calls " rough " or " smooth." When 
the racket has fallen on its face, it is examined to 
see which side is uppermost, and the question of 
innings is decided accordingly. Supposing, then, 
that M and N have called " rough " and that 
" rough it is," M, being the better player of the two, 
will proceed to serve, and as he and his partner 
score each ace, the game will be called " one love," 
" two love," " three love," etc. If he is put out after 
making three aces, X will succeed him, and as he 
serves the game will be called " love three." As he 
makes his score it will be called " one three," "two 
three," "three all," and so on, until he also is put 
out, when his partner must go in, and serve from 
the court opposite to that from which the last ser- 
vice was made. When he is out M wiU go in, and 



be followed by N. When a game has been won 
there is no change of innings, but the player who 
was serving when the game ended begins the next 
game at " love all," and when he is out his two ad- 
versaries go in in what order they please. Thus it 
will be seen that at the commencement only one 
hand is allowed to go in, but afterward the two 
hands on each side go in successively till the game 
is won. It will also be remarked that a player who 
is good at serving has a great advantage, as when- 
ever he scores the game, which he is sure often to 
do, he secures not only this benefit, but that of first 
innings in the next game. It is generally the rule, 
that when the game is called " thirteen all," it may, 
upon the demand of the out-player, be " set at five," 
in which case five aces must be added to the score 
of 13 before the game can be concluded on either 
side. At a tie of 14 the game may be " set at 
three." 

If in serving a ball, it should touch either the 
server or his partner, before it has bounded twice, 
it puts him out. 

If a striker in returning the ball hits the ball 
against his partner's racket or person, it counts an 
ace against him, or a hand out if he is in. 

It is a " let " if the out hand unintentionally gets 
in the way of the striker, and a " hinder " or " balk " 
if he do it purposely, and in the latter case counts 
an ace against him. 

Two consecutive " faults " put a server out. 



fpuSilffiBraipliHS 








m If 1 n: 






/ -3 



BOWLS. 



BOWLS. 




Bowls is one of -the oldest games of ball extant, 
and centuries ago was the most popular of field 
games among the English nobility, bowling greens 
in the olden time being as numerous as tennis 
lawns are now. The regular game is played with 
hard ligniim^uzits balls, turned in such a manner as 
to make them diverge from a straight line when 
bowled on the green and turn in toward the "Jack," 
or ball, which the bowler aims for. In fact, the 
regular game is quite a scientific sport, and presents 
a field for a great display of skill. The game as 



To lay down a bowling court like that below, a 
level piece of hard surface ground is necessary, and 
it would be well to sink the level of the court about 
four or six inches below the surface, boarding the 
sides of the court. When a regular court is not laid 
out in this way, the game can be easily played on a 
croquet or tennis lawn, the only points to be laid 
down being the "tees "at the two ends and the 
lines behind which the bowlers are to stand when 
bowling. A small quoit is laid down in the centre 
of the circle at each end, and this forms the " tee." 
This court would be marked out as shown in Fig. 2. 

From one to five players on a side can take part 
in the game, each player rolling two balls, one each 
alternately with an opponent. In delivering the 
balls the bowler must stand with both feet back of 
the bowler's line. All the players on both sides 
bowl from the same place and for the " tee " at the 
opposite end of the court. When all the balls of 
both sides have been bowled the " end " is com- 
pleted, and the side having the ball nearest the 
" tee " counts one ace. Should a side have more 
than one ball nearer the " tee " than any ball of the 
opposite side, an additional ace is to be counted 
for each additional ball. A ball bowled so as to 
settle in the centre of the " tee " quoit counts two 




LINE FROM "TEE" TO "TEE" 



|50 feet in lengtli 



^ 

5 





FIG. I. 



-© 



H 

W 



FIG. 



modernized for young players differs from the 
regular game materially, and it is this latter game 
of bowls only which is included in the list of sports 
in this work. For this a special court is laid down, 
in form as shown in Fig. i. 



aces, provided it remains in position until the com- 
pletion of the end. The game is won by the side 
which first makes twenty-one aces. Ends are re- 
served and the other " tee " bowled for whenever 
all the players have rolled each two balls. 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BO VS. 



ATHLETICS. 



Gymnastic exercises may be begun by a boy 
about eight years old, or may be commenced at 
any age ; but in all cases one should begin gently 
and proceed gradually without any abrupt tran- 
sitions. They should be practised before break- 
fast in the morning or before dinner or supper, 
but never immediately after meals ; and the pupil 




should be very careful, after becoming heated by 
exercise, of draughts or colds, and in especial 
should refrain from lying on the damp ground 
or from standing without his coat Or other gar- 
ments. Above all he should rigidly abstain from 
the dangerous habit of drinking cold water, which 
in many instances has been known to produce 
Jatal results. 

TRAINING. 

It is impossible for any one to indulge to any ex- 
tent in pedestrianism, rowing or other vigorous 
athletic contests without going into some sort of 
training, however slight it may be. Before any can 
be thoroughly enjoyed, it is essential that the body 
should be brought into condition and the constitu- 



tion prepared for the severe tests to which it is sure 
to be put. Until this has been satisfactorily accom- 
plished (and it cannot be done without much per- 
severance and self-denial) success at regattas or in 
other out-door sports is quite out of the question, 
and the most serious results will attend any attempt 
to take part in such proceedings. Courage and 
determination to win a race, whether on land or 
water, are qualities very much to be admired, yet 
they are entirely after-considerations ; the first and 
chief endeavor must be to reduce the superfluous 
' fat without weakening the system, to secure sound- 
ness in wind and limb — in short, thoroughly to pre- 
pare the body so that it may be equal to the 
emergencies that may hereafter present themselves. 
Training should not, however, be begun hastily. 
Before it is commenced, care should be taken to 
get the stomach into condition for the dieting 
it will have to undergo. These preliminary pro- 
ceedings will be more or less prolonged, according 
to the habits of life of the person. If a boy has been 
given to eating unwholesome food, or smoking, he 
does not begin under such favorable circumstances 
as those who have not so indulged themselves. 
Probably he has injured his digestion and interfered 
to, at least, a slight degree with his liver ; a state of 
things that he can readily appreciate by the restless- 
ness of his night's sleep, a furred tongue and an 
unpleasant taste in his mouth in the morning. 
The first thing he must do is to give up pastry and 
other indigestible food and throw away his tobacco. 
When once he has made up his mind to go in for a 
system of training, he should commence by taking 
a mild aperient dose, such as salts and senna or a 
little rhubarb. He should avoid extremes and only 
take medicine enough to clear his stomach pre- 
paratory to its new treatment. If he has been wise 
enough to satisfy himself with very little in the way 
of sweets and has refrained altogether from tobacco, 
which to young people is simply poison, he may, 
unless of weak or sickly constitution, begin to train 
without any preliminary preparations. If his heart 
and soul are really in the contest for which he de- 
sires to get himself into condition, and he possesses 
a small amount of strength of mind, he will soon 
become accustomed to the daily routine of food and 
exercise. It is no use beginning, and then yielding 
to the temptation for this or that nice thing; when 




GYMNASTICS. 



104 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



once the ordeal has been commenced, it must be 
carried out strictly and acciirately, or it may as well 
be abandoned altogether ; for the desired state of 
body can only be arrived at by one means, namely, 
a large amount of self-denial and close adherence 
to the prescribed diet. 

There is of course some slight difference in the 
systems of training to be pursued for rowing and 
pedestrianism ; at the same time, in the chief and 
important points precisely the same course has to 
be taken. If a boy has a walking or running race 
in view, he must remember this, that he has to suit 
his daily exercise according to the distance of the 
competition in which he is going to take part. For 
short races he need do little more than keep his 
digestion and wind in good order, taking care to 
have, say, a couple of hours' good exercise in the 
course of the day. We would here venture to 
correct a grave mistake made very often by young 
runners, who think that by continual practising and 
"spurting" they learn to improve their pace. 
They can adopt no better means for defeating their 
own end than this, as it will tend far more to 
diminish their pace than to improve it. On the 
other hand, if they have a long course for several 
miles to get over, speed is not so much a matter of 
importance as endurance, and this latter quality 
can only be obtained by accustoming the body to 
long and severe exercise. For young persons, how- 
ever, it is extremely injudicious to attempt too 
great distances, and we would advise that two 
miles, and no more, be made the outside limit. 
Longer spins than this are seldom, if ever, tried in 
ordinary amateur races. 

According as the match that is to be contested 
is in running or walking, so must the day's exercise 
be regulated. Avoid, if for the former, taking too 
much running practice, and that never for a greater 
distance than that of the race in which you are 
to take part. Good sharp, brisk walking is more 
serviceable than anything else in getting the body 
in order. And now, presuming that a boy is in 
sound health, with good lungs and no unpleasant 
thumpings about his heart, let us see how he should 
regulate his training. Six o'clock to get out of bed 
and commence the day. No one who intends to 
train himself really seriously will wish to lie longer. 
Then a cold tub with a big sponge and lots of 
water, followed by a severe rubbing with a rough 
Turkish towel, that leaves you all aglow. Dress as 
quickly as you can, and go out for half an hour's walk, 
or run, as you feel inclined. Be sure, however, not 
to fatigue yourself, and see that you come in to 



breakfast, say at half-past seven, with a good appe- 
tite. Those who can eat porridge will find it a cap- 
ital thing to commence breakfast with, followed by 
the lean portion of a broiled chop or steak, with 
bread at least two days old. Neither tea nor coffee 
is desirable ; a glass or two of milk being much 
better. 

There is no need to bind yourself down to a stip- 
ulated quantity of food ; eat what you feel you re- 
quire, and no more. After breakfast get as much 
rest as you can, say, for a couple of hours ; then take 
yourself off for a couple of hours' walking or run- 
ning, getting back to dinner by about two o'clock. 
The programme for this meal is simple enough : a 
joint of roast meat, either mutton or beef, a potato, 
and sometimes a little cauliflower, or brocoli, just 
to make a change, bread as before, and another 
glass or so of milk. Poultry is sometimes intro- 
duced, but we hardly think it good — in fact, as far 
you can, stick to the good plain joint, or chop, or 
steak, with bread and milk, and you will be aston- 
ished how you will find your condition improved. 
After dinner rest again for two or three hours, and 
then about six o'clock take yourself off for another 
hour's exercise, on your return from which you will 
no doubt be fully prepared with an appetite for sup- 
per. This meal should always be a light one, as it 
is bad at all times, and especially in training, to go to 
bed on a full stomach. Unless you feel you abso- 
lutely require it, do not take any meat ; otherwise, 
a chop is the least objectionable. Butter, spices,, 
peppers and sauces should on no account be taken, 
and, as we said before, so we again repeat, smoking 
must be abjured. If the directions given are fol- 
lowed out, defeat will not be occasioned througk 
any error in the system of preparation. 

WALKING. 

In all gymnastic exercises walking, running and 
jumpmg deserve the preference because they are 
the most natural movements of man and those 
which he has most occasion to use. Walking, 
which is within the reach of everybody, ought to be 
placed among the forms of exercise which are direct, 
conservators of health, and which have the most 
important beneficial effects upon our mental and 
moral economy. It provokes appetite, assists di- 
gestion, accelerates the circulation, brings the 
fluids to the skin, strengthens the memory, and 
gives cheerfulness to the mind, and in fatiguing the 
limbs gives repose to the senses and the brain. 

It might be supposed that every one knows how 



ATJfLEriCS. 



i°5 





SHORT STRIDE. 



to walk: not so, however; some persons crawl, 
some hobble, some shuffle along. Few have the 
graceful, noble movement that ought to belong to 

progression, or, how- 
ever well formed, pre- 
serve a really erect po- 
sition and an air of 
becoming confidence 
and dignity. To teach 
walking — that is to 
say, to ■ teach young 
persons to walk prop- 
erly — it is suggested 
that a class of them 
unite, that they may 
be able to teach them- 
selves, which they may 
I readily do if they fol- 
low the instructions 
given below. 

A company of boys 
being formed, the el- 
dest, or the one best 
adapted to the task, 
should act as captain, and at the word of command, 
"Fall in," all the boys are to advance side by side, 
preserving between each the distance of about an 
arm's length. At the word " Dress " each boy 
places his right hand on the left shoulder of the 

next, extending his 
arm at full length, and 
turning his head to the 
right. At the word 
" Attention " the arms 
fall down by the side 
and the head returns 
to the first position. 
The captain should 
now place his little reg- 
iment in the following 
manner: i. The head 
up. 2. The shoulders 
back. 3. The body 
erect. 4. The stomach 
in. 5. The knees 
straight, the heels on 
the same Ime. 6. The 
toes turned very slight- 
ly outwards. The cap- 
tain now stands before 
his men, and advancing his left foot, his knee 
straight, and his toe inclined towards the ground, 
he counts one, two, placing his boot on the ground. 




A FINE TREE STRIDE. 



the toe before the heei ; he then directs his pupils 
to obey him, and to follow his motions, and says, 
"March," when each foot is advanced simulta- 
neously, till he gives the word " Halt." He then 
makes them advance, wheel to the right and left, in 
slow time, quick time, always watching the posi- 
tion of the body, and requiring that they move all 
together. 

A nother variation of walking is the tip-toe march, 
an excellent preparation for running and jumping. 
The boys being in line, the word " On tip-toes " is 
given : each boy places his hands on his sides, and 
waits for the word, " Rise," when they all gently 




A WALKING RACE. 

raise themselves on their toes, joining their heels 
together, and keeping the knees straight, remain 
in this position till the word " Rest" is given, 
when they fall back slightly on their heels, their 
hands at the same time falling down by their 
sides. Proceeding in this manner through a few 
courses, with such changes as may present them- 
selves, the pupils will soon acquire a habit of grace- 
ful walking, of the highest importance to everyone 
who studies a gentlemanly bearing. 

RUNNING. 

Running is both useful and natural ; it favors the 
development of the chest, dilates the lungs and, if 



io6 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



not practised immoderately, is a highly beneficial 
exercise. To run fast and gracefully one should as 
it were graze the ground with the feet, by keeping 




-,^\ 



"■^<!. 



legs too high behind, taking too large strides, bend- 
ing the knees too much and in not properly manag- 
ing and economizing the wind. In all running ex- 
ercises the young should begin gradually and never 
get out of breath at any time. By careful practice 
a boy may soon acquire the power of running a mile 
in ten minutes. This is considered moderate speed. 
In prompt running a thousand yards in two min- 
utes is thought good work; and in quick run- 
ning six hundred yards a minute is held to be good 
The first distance that children from eight to ten 
years of age should be allowed to run is about two 
hundred jyards ; for those who are older, three 
hundred yards ; and for adults four hundred yards. 
It is, however, most essential that in running boys 
should not overtax their strength or wind. We are 




IN CONDITION. 



the legs as straight as possible whilst moving them 
forward. During the course the upper part of the 
body is inclined a little forward, the arms are kept 




^^^P&s^ 



OUT OF CONDITION. 

close to the sides and bent at the hips, the hands 
shut and the nails turned inwards. The faults in 
running are apt to be swinging the arms, raising the 




A VERY FAST SPRINTER. 

not all constituted alike, and a boy who could last 
for two hundred yards or so might injure himself 
considerably by racing for a mile. 

JUMPING. 

Of all bodily exercises jumping is one of the 
most useful ; and during our lives many instances 
may occur of a good jump doing us essential service. 
To jump with grace and assurance one should al- 
ways fall on the toes, taking care especially to bend 
the knees and the hips ; the upper part of the body 
should be inclined forwards and the arms extended 
towards the ground. The hands should serve to 
break the fall when jurhping from a great height. 
In jumping we should hold the breath and never 
alight on the heel. Boys should exercise them- 
selves in jumping by practising both on a level 
and from a height, with due attention to the 



io8 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



above cautions. They may make progressive exer- 
cises in level jumping by varying the distance from 
time to time, and in height jumping by starting in 




HIGH JUMP. 

succession from the different steps of a stairway. 
They will soon find themselves able to jump in 
length three yards and in height six feet, without 
injury. 

LEAPING. 

Leaping is somewhat different from what is 
called jumping, as the object is to pass over an ob- 
stacle ; and, as in jumping, it is of great importance 
to draw in the breath, while the hands should be 
shut, the arms pendent, to operate after the man- 
ner of a fly-wheel or pendulum. It may be prac- 
tised by a leaping stand, which can be easily made 
of two sticks or stakes sunk in the ground, in which 
little catches are made at various distances, on 
which another piece of wood may be laid, that may 
readily be knocked over, so as to offer no resistance 
to the jumper, if he touch it, and save him from in- 
jury by an ugly fall. The purpose of this stand is to 
measure the height leaped. 

The principal exercises in leaping are: i. The 
high leap without a run. 2. The high leap with a 
run. 3. The long leap without a run. 4. And the 
long leap with a run. In the first of these the legs 
and feet are closed, the knees are bent till the calves 
nearly touch the thighs, and the arms are thrown m 
the direction of the leap, which increases the mi- 
pulse. This leap may be practised at the following 
progressive heights : eighteen inches, twenty- four 
inches, thirty-two inches, forty-eight inches — which 
last is perhaps what few lads would attain. 



The high hap with a run. — The run should never 
exceed twelve paces, the distance between the point 
of springing and the obstacle to leap over to be about 
three-fifths the height of the obstacle from the 
ground ; and in making it the leaper should go 
fairly and straightly over without veering to the 
side, and descend on the ball of the foot just beyond 
the toes. The heights that may be cleared by the 
running leap vary from three to six feet. A good 
leaper of sixteen years old ought to leap four feet 
six inches, and an extraordinarily good leaper five 
feet. Adults well trained will leap six, and some 
have been known to leap seven feet. 

The long- leap without a ru7i. — The long leap 
may be marked out from four to eight feet, accord-, 
ing to the agility and strength of the leaper ; and 
the object to be cleared, a small block of wood, which 
should in this kind of leap be never more than six 
inches high, placed midway. In leaping the body 
is bent forward, the feet are closed, the arms first 
sway forwards, then backwards, and then forwards 
at the moment of taking the leap. In this kind of 
leap ten or twelve feet is considered good work. 

The long leap with a run. — The run should be on 
firm level ground. The body should be inclined 
forward, and the run consist of about twelve paces ; 
a small block of wood, as before, being placed mid- 
distance in the leap. The spring should be princi- 
pally on the right foot, and the arms should be 
thrown forwards at the time of the leap. In de- 




LONG JUMP. 

scending, if the leap be a very long one, the leaper 
should descend principal^ upon his toes; if the 
leap be not very long, he may descend on the balls of 



ATHLETICS. 



109 



the toes. The leap is considered good if fifteen feet 
be cleared, but twenty may be done by a good leap- 
er, and one or two individuals have fairly reached 
twenty-three feet. 

Vaulting.— I'hxB, is performed by springing over 
some stationary body, such as a gate or bar, by the 
aid of the hands, which bear upon it. To accom- 
plish it, the vaulter may approach the bar with a 
slight run, and, placing his hands upon it, heave 
himself up and throw his legs obliquely over it. 
The legs should be kept close together. While the 
body is in suspension over the bar, the right hand 
supports and guides it, the left remaining free, or 



fall may be brought towards the place from which he 
rose. 

The pole is also employed in both long and deep 
leaps. In both of these the mode of holding the 
pole is similar ; but in leaping from a height the 
pole should be grasped at the level of the knee, and 
then he leaper, with a slight circular swing, should 
descend on the balls of his toes. 

CLIMBING A BOARD. 

A board firmly secured at an angle of thirty de- 
grees to the ground will afford capital amusement 




A HURDLE RACE. 



vice versa., if the jump is made to the right. The 
vaulter may commence this exercise with a bar or 
a stile three feet high and extend it gradually to six 
feet. 

Leaping with a pole. — A great variety of leaps 
may be practised with a pole, which should be of 
sufficient length and shod at one end with iron, so 
as to take hold of the ground. The leaper should 
grasp with his right hand that part of the pole a 
little below the level of his head, and- with his left 
that part of it just below the level of his hips. He 
should then make a slight run, and placing the pole 
on the ground, take a spring forward and swing 
himself slightly round, so that when he alights the 



and exercise to a boy in learning to climb it. He 
should seize both sides with his hands and place 
his feet in the middle on their soles. This will 
teach him how to hold fast with his hands and to 
cling with his feet. As the climber gets used to 
this exercise, the angle of the board may be in- 
creased. The young gymnast will find eventually 
that he can ascend when the plank is perfectly per- 
pendicular. A pole may be mounted in the same 
manner. 

CLIMBING THE POLE. 

In climbing the pole one should be selected 
about nine inches in diameter and firmly fixed in the 



no 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



ground in a perpendicular position. To mount it, 
it should be grasped firmly with both hands, the 
right above the left. The legs are alternately to 




LEAPING WITH A POLE; HALF OVER. 

grasp the pole in the ascent by means of the great 
toe, which is turned towards the pole. In descend- 
ing, the friction is to be thrown on the inner part 
of the thighs and the hands are left comparatively 
free. 

Climbing the mast is similar to climbing the pole; 
but in this exercise the climber is unable to grasp it 
with his hands but holds it in his arms ; the position 
of the legs is the same as for the pole. If either 
pole or mast is well greased it adds considerably to 
the interest of the performance. 

CLIMBING THE ROPE. 

In climbing the rope, it is firmly grasped by the 
hands, which are placed one above the other, and so 
moved alternately. The heels are crossed over the 
rope, which is held fast by their pressure, the body 
being supported principally by them. In the sail- 
or's method the rope passes from the hands round 
the inside of the thigh, under the knee-joint, over 
the outside of the leg, and across the instep. But 
the enterprising gymnast will not be satisfied until 
he can climb the rope by his hands only, allowing 
the rest of his body to hang freely suspended. 

CLIMBING TREES. 

In climbing trees the hands and feet and knees 
are all to be used ; but the climber should never for- 
get that it is to the hands that he has to trust. He 
should carefully look upwards and select the branch- 



es for his hands, and the knobs and other excres- 
cences of the trees for his feet. He should also' 
mark the best openings for the advance of his body. 
He should also be particularly cautious in laying hold 
of withered branches, or those that have suffered 
decay at their junction with the body of the tree, 
in consequence of the growth of moss, or through 
the effects of wet. In descending, he should be 
more cautious than in ascending, and hold fast by 
his hands. He should rarely slide down by a branch 
to the ground, as it is extremely difficult to esti- 
mate distances from the branches of a tree. 

THE GIANT STRIDE. 

The valuable and invigorating apparatus which is 
called the" giant stride" in some places, and the 
"flying steps" in others, is to be found in many 
schools where an enclosed open-air playground can 
be secured. Excepting on a few occasions, or 
when the charm of novelty induces the boys to 
exercise, it is seldom in much favor, and is usually 
seen idle, with the ironwork rusting, the beam rot- 
ting, and the ropes yielding to exposure. 

In fact, it really seems as if the masters and 
teachers were doing their best to weaken their ap- 
paratus, and to cause a severe accident whenever it 
breaks down, as such is always the case, sooner or 
later. The rusty iron gives way to a harder pull 
than usual, the ropes snap, or the upright post 
breaks off level with the ground, and falls with dread- 
ful force. 

Boys, too, soon get tired of it ; they take hold of 
the ropes, run round a few times, and then leave it, 
naturally, seeing no interest in such a proceeding. 
But in reality the " giant stride ' is a most useful ar- 
ticle in the muscular education, as it exercises at 
the same time the arms and legs, is capital for the 
lungs and strengthens those invaluable muscles 
about the loins which are so apt to be neglected 
and by reason of whose weakness many dangerous 
injuries occur to young and old. 

Having fixed upon a suitable spot of level ground^ 
well laid with gravel and carefully drained, dig a 
hole at least seven feet deep, and fill eighteen inch- 
es with stones about the size of the fist. Pound 
and press the stones well down and then pour rough 
gravel upon them until the surface is made tolerably 
level. The object of these stones is to prevent the 
water from accumulating round the post and rot- 
ting it. 

Now for the post. This should be at least twenty 
feet long, so as to leave about fifteen feet projecting 



ATHLETICS. 



when set upright in the hole. The butt should be 
left veiy large, as is done with ordinary wooden 
gate-posts, and the whole affair ought to be of thor- 
oughly seasoned wood. Unless this is the case 
it is sure to rot, and then down it comes some day 
when least expected. Triangular steps should be 
nailed upon opposite sides, as otherwise the daily 
task of removing and replacing the ropes will be 
very irksome. 

Get a blacksmith to make a stout iron pin, having 
a projecting shoulder to prevent it from entering 
too far into the wood. This pin should be driven 
into the top of the pole, which should be guarded 
from splitting by a stout iron collar. There should 
also be procured an iron disc having a cap or thim- 
ble in the middle, which is intended to receive the 
iron pin and to enable the disc to spin round freely. 
Four holes should also be bored through the edge 
of the disc. Purchase four iron S hooks, and the 
same number of swivels, and a good store of well- 
made half-inch rope, and the machine may then be 
set up. 

First char carefully the whole of the butt that 
is to enter the ground, and for about six inches 
above, in order to prevent the wood from being in- 
jured by wet. Place it upright in the hole, testing 
it by a plumb-line tied to the top, and fill in the 
hole with earth, pounding it down firmly with a 
heavy rammer. You cannot be too careful about 
this process, and the apparatus should not be used 
until the earth has had time to settle. While wait- 
ing for this operation, cut the rope into appropriate 
lengths, and fasten one end of each rope to a swivel, 
and the other to the centre of a stout baton of elm 
or oak wood, about eighteen inches long. Unless 
you are very sure of your powers of splicing ropes 
and making " eyes," let the ropemaker do this for 
you, as it is a most important operation, and involves 
the security of the gymnast in no slight degree. It 
is necessary to have swivels, as the ropes would 
otherwise become so twisted asjfo lose their freedom 
of play, or even to weaken their structure. These 
preparations being completed, mount the post by 
the steps, taking the cap with you ; grease the pin 
well with an end of tallow-candle, and slip the cap 
upon it, taking care to spin it well, in order to assure 
yourself that all is right. Hang the swivels to the 
circular plate by means of the S hooks, one curve 
of which passes through the hole in the plate and 
the other through the loop in the swivel. 

The ropes should be just so long that when they 
hang loosely along the pole the cross-bar should be 
two feet from the ground. As, however, new ropes 



stretch in a wonderful manner, it is needful to allow 
considerably for this property. 

One thing more is needed, and then the whole 
apparatus will be complete. 

Measure the greatest distance which can be 
reached by the feet of any one swinging round by 
the ropes, and about one yard beyond that line 
erect a slender pole nearly as high as the central 
post, having pegs driven at intervals of four inches. 
This is intended to aid the learner in leaping. 
■ fiaving now everything ready, we first look to all 
the fastenings — a precaution which must never be 
neglected. See that the pin and swivels are well 
greased ; take the cross-bar of one rope in both 
hands, and retire from the post as far as the out- 
stretched arms will permit. Of course, if there are 
four performers, each takes his stand exactly oppo- 
site his neighbor. It is better not to exercise 
alone, on account of the unequal strain on the 
post; and it is evident that the opposite players 
should be as nearly as possible of similar weights, 
so as to balance each other in their course. It may 
easily be imagined that the strain upon the base of 
the post is enormous, there being a leverage of 
fifteen feet, so that some precautions are necessary 
to prevent injury. 

Keeping our right sides to the post and the rope 
tightly stretched, we begin to run, throwing as much 
weight as possible on the rope and as little as possible 
on the feet. As the pace increases, the feet are 
taken off the ground and touch it at longer inter- 




LEAPING WITH A POLE: WELL OVER. 



vals until, when at full speed, they only come to the 
ground occasionally, just sufficient to maintain the 
impetus. 



112 



OUT- DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



Having kept up this speed as long as agreeable, we 
■slacken the pace gradually and stop. Next time we 
take care to run the contrary way, keeping the left 
side toward the pole. This is done to exercise equally 
the muscular system on both sides of the body ; and, 
to save time and space, it maybe here said once for 
all, that when any feat is described, it should be ac- 
complished in both directions with equal ease. 

One of the most exciting exercises which can be 
obtained on the giant stride is the following method 
of leaping. 

Set the string to quite a low elevation — say two 
ieet from the ground ; stand with your back to it, 
the cross-bar in your hands, and run quickly round. 
When you come about one-quarter of the distance, 
try to fling yourself into the air, not by jumping with 
the legs, but by letting the whole weight depend on 
the rope, so that the centrifugal force takes you off 
your feet. As you touch the ground, take about 
three long steps, and at the third step hurl yourself 
again off the ground, with the body straight, and the 
feet extended well behind, and the impetus will carry 
_you over the string, and land you neatly on the other 
side. You will soon learn to increase the height of 
the jump, until you can pass over the string at an 
elevation of ten feet with perfect certainty. 

Another very pretty, though not so dashing, a 
feat is to spin round on your own axis as you run 
round the course. At first it is needful to manage 
this cautiously, as a slip of the foot is sure to disturb 
your balance and send you ignominiously scraping 
your way over the gravel in a derogatory and rather 
pain f ul position. When , however, you have mastered 
this art, you can go round revolving the whole time, 
keeping your legs straight, feet together, and toes 
pointed. 

There are many modifications of these exercises 
-which might be described, but, as space is limited, 
-only two more can be mentioned. 

In the first of these exercises the performer never 
■moves hand or foot, but holds himself straight, stiff 
and immovable as an Egyptian statue, and in the 
course of his progress round the central post his 
feet describe a series of circles, or rather spirals, 
while his hands merely move in a circle, and serve 
as the axis on which the body revolves. 

To accomplish it, the performer grasps the cross- 
tar in both hands at the full stretch of his arms, 
holds himself quite straigiit and stiff, points his 
toes, and then falls forward. If he has the strength 
and nerve to hold himself quite stiff, though his 
face comes rather near the ground, the whole body 
swings off the ground, the hands being the pivot. 



and the feet take the course denoted by the dot- 
ted line, the hands retaining their position. It is 
possible, by dint of practice, to manage so as to 
make the entire circle of the pole in four such 
revolutions. 

The last is the most daring and difficult of all the 
feats, being nothing less than passing over the string 
with the head downwards and the feet in the air. 
This should not be attempted by any one but a tol- 
erable gymnast, and is achieved by running at the 
string in the manner already described and, just as 
the body is rising in the swing, drawing the hands 
smartly to the breast, throwing the feet into the air 
and clasping the rope between them. 

THE TRAPEZE. 

The best place for a trapeze is in a strongly-built 
barn or outhouse, but where that is not possible or 
convenient, one can be erected in the open air 
either as a permanent fixture, or movably, so as to 
be taken down in wet weather or when not in use. 
Wood rots so easily when exposed to water, and an 
accident caused by the breaking of rotten wood 
may be so serious, that all owners of trapezes are 
earnestly cautioned against running any risks in 
the matter. 

A trapeze really is nothing more than a high 
swing, intended to be used chiefly by hanging from 
it with the hands, instead of sitting or standing in 
it as in the ordinary swing. It is better and safer 
to use wire for the two side ropes than the hempen 
article, though the latter will answer. If erected in 
a barn or other building, these ropes can be at- 
tached to any lofty beam already there, or one can 
be put up for the purpose. But if the trapeze is to 
be used in the open air, then two heavy posts 
should be sunk in the ground, or better, pla.ced in 
stone sockets, so as to be readily slipped out and 
stowed in a dry place in damp weather. Over the 
tops of these post% a stout cross-piece should be 
firmly secured, from which the ropes are to be 
suspended. This cross-piece can be fastened to 
the posts by screws, so as to be easily separated 
from the posts when the apparatus is taken down. 
Guy ropes are necessary to stay the posts and pre- 
vent sagging or toppling over. The two side ropes 
are attached one to each end of the bar on which 
the gymnast swings and performs his feats. 

For practising the feat of passing through the 
air from one trapeze to another a double set of 
apparatus is required ; but for most useful purposes 
one set is sufficient. The ropes by which the bar is 



ATHLETICS. 



suspended must be thoroughly stretched before 
they are attached to the bar, or there will be no 
certainty in the swing. Few persons who have not 
had practical experience on this subject would im- 
agine how greatly the length of a rope is increased 
by the process of stretching, and how absolutely 
necessary is this precaution. 

The ropes are passed at each end over an iron 
eye, the upper one of which is hitched over a hook 
on the cross-bar, and the other receives the hook 
which suspends the bar. These hooks are useful, 
because, when needed, a pair of rings can be substi- 
tuted for the bar, and permit certain variations in 
the performances. Still their presence or absence 
is quite optional, and the only remark that need be 
made is, that they should be furnished with springs 
like the fastening of a breguet chain, so as to guard 
against the possibility of slipping. The bar itself 
must be very heavy, or otherv/ise it will not have 
sufficient weight to keep the cords at full stretch, 
and in consequence will not swing truly. Those 
which were employed by Leotard were iron, with a 
mere shell of wood, so as to give a pleasant hold for 
the hands, and we have seen them made of iron 
coated with leather. The last point that needs 
notice is the perch or stand from which the per- 
former launches himself. This may be fixed at any 
convenient elevation, and its centre should exactly 
coincide with the centre of the bar. Having now the 
apparatus ready, let us commence the performance. 

Set the bar swinging boldly ; ascend the perch 
quickly, and seize the bar in both hands. Wait for 
a moment, until the ropes are fully stretched, and 
then launch yourself for a swing. Now there are 
two ways of doing everything — a right and a wrong 
way ; and the present instance affords no exception 
to the rule. The wrong way — and the usual way — 
is to fall forwards from -the perch. Now this is 
quite wrong ; and if you act in such a manner you 
will bungle your sway, and will not retain sufficient 
impetus to enable you to return to the perch. 

The right mode of starting is as follows : Stand 
with the spine well bent backwards, the body 
tolerably stiff, and leaning well against the heavy 
bar. Now draw yourself up gently by the arms, as 
if you were trying to lift your chin above the bar, 
and you will find yourself started without any 
trouble. Keep the back still bent, and as you de- 
scend allow the arms gradually to assume a perfect- 
ly straight position. You will then swing out fairly 
and boldly, and by the least possible sway at the 
end of the swing will retain sufficient impetus to 
enable you to resume your stand on the perch. 



Even in this there is an art. If you merely allow 
yourself to swing back as you swing forward, you 
will be disagreeably reminded of your error, by 
hitting the back of the leg smartly against the edge 
of the perch. In order to avoid this misfortune, 
draw up the legs sharply just before you reach the 
end of the return swing, and you will find them 
come down on the perch with perfect ease. 

If you are using the rings instead of the bar, you 
can vary this part of the performance by turning 
round in the air and crossing the ropes so that you 
alight on the perch with your back towards the 
trapeze, though it is necessary to give a sharp twist 
as your foot touches the perch and so to turn in 
the direction in which you started. 

Take notice that the arms are always at full 
length during the swing and that any illustrations 
which represent the performer swinging with bent 
arms - are entirely erroneous. There is another 
fault into which artists often fall. Thinking that 
they are obtaining pictorial effect, they represent 
the ropes which sustain the bar as forming an angle 
with the arms of the performer, whereas the arms, 
body and ropes are, or ought to be, all in the same 
line. 

When you have accomplished the swing and re- 
turn satisfactorily, you may advance another step. 
Swing off as usual, and, when you have reached the 
extremity of the swing, you will find yourself hang- 
ing for a moment motionless, the attraction of 
gravitation being balanced by the impetus of the 
swing. Just at this important point, shift your hold 
on the bar and change sides, as you would do if the 
ropes were perpendicular and quiet. 

You will then face the spot whence you started, 
and in landing on the perch you must be careful to 
give yourself a twist as you place your feet on the 
perch, and with a slight exertion of the arms you 
will draw yourself upright without difficulty, and 
without running the risk of falling off the perch 
again — a frequent and ignominious misfortune. 

It will now be time to practice the descent from 
the swinging trapeze to the ground. Begin by sit- . 
ting on the bar, grasping it with the hands, and fall- 
ing off backwards, taking care to come to the ground 
with pointed toes and crossed feet. The reason of 
this precaution is that, if the feet are crossed, the 
knees are separated, and that when the body yields — 
as it must do when it touches the earth — there is no 
danger of hitting the chin against the knee, and 
thereby receiving a momentary shock to the brain 
by the teeth striking together. 

When you can manage the " fall-back," as it is 



114 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



called, with tolerable ease and certainty, seize the 
bar with the hands, set it swinging, keeping your 
face to the perch, and when you are nearly at the 
full extent of the swing loosen your hold, and allow 
yourself to come to the ground. Be very careful to 
point the toes, as has already been described, and 
continue the practice until you can stand on the 
perch, launch yourself backwards, and fly off at the 
highest point of the swing. 

Always leave the bar while you are swinging back- 
uiards, because the attitude of the body is then such 
as to insure your coming to the ground in the cor- 
rect position ; whereas, if you do so while swinging 
forward, you are nearly certain to overbalance your- 
self, and either fall on your nose, or go staggering 
along in a very undignified style. 

The next process is to start as usual, raise your- 
self in a sitting position on the bar, and have some 
one remove the perch. Fall back as before, only, 
instead of coming on the ground, hang by the legs, 
and accustom yourself to swing in this attitude. 
When you can accomplish that feat without diffi- 
culty, and feel no nervousness at your strange posi- 
tion, remove one leg from the bar and hang by the 
other. Practice this with both feet. It is not 
nearly so difficult as it looks, and is an important 
feat to perform, because it gives such perfect pres- 
ence of mind. 

The next feat looks positively awful, but, as usual 
in gymnastic performances, is perfectly easy, requir- 
ing no skill at all, and only a little courage. Sit on 
the bar when it is still, and do the " fall-back." 
But, instead of allowing the feet to pass between 
the ropes, spread the legs as far apart as possible, 
and bend up the feet rigidly. The consequence 
is, that the insteps hitch in the ropes, slide down 
them, and the body becomes suspended by the feet. 



which are firmly hitched between the ropes and 
the bar. 

If you possess a second trapeze, you may now 
proceed to the beautiful series of performances 
which are achieved upon them. 

Let them at first be set moderately near each 
other, so that when the bar of the first trapeze is at 
full swing, it passes within a yard or four feet of the 
second. Start off as usual, and just as you are well 
on the rise, after passing through the upright, loose 
your hold of the bar, and you will pass through the 
air towards the second bar, which you catch rapidly. 

If you perform the feat nicely, you will have so 
much impetus to spare that you will be carried along 
on the second bar, and may either attempt to return 
or quietly drop to the ground at the end of the 
swing. If you prefer the latter course, be sure to turn 
through your arras and come down on your toes. 

You will find that the return to the perch, simple 
as it looks, is by far the most difficult feat that has 
yet been mentioned. Make but the least mistake 
and failure is certain. If you do not catch the bar 
exactly at the right moment, you lose your impetus ; 
and if you do not seize it exactly in the right place 
you do not swing truly between the uprights, and 
consequently cannot land on the spot at which you 
aim. 

The method of performing this feat is as follows : 
Swing off the perch, pass the second bar, and while 
at the full extent of the swing, change sides and 
give yourself a slight impulse with the feet. You will 
now meet the first bar swinging towards you, and, 
if you can seize it just at the right moment, you will 
have sufficient impetus to reach the perch. If not, 
swing once more, give yourself a hearty impulse with 
the legs, and try it again. Failure is certain at first, 
but after a little practice the feat becomes easy. 







HARE AND HOUNDS, OR PAPER CHASE. 



"5 



HARE AND HOUNDS, OR PAPER CHASE. 



Hare and hounds is one of the best liked games 
to be found among those played by American and 
English school-boys, nor is it despised by those too 
old to be called boys. It takes some hours to play 
it, but a cool, bright half-holiday in autumn can- 
not be much better employed than in a well-organ- 
ized " paper chase." 

The principle of it is simply this : one boy repre- 
sents the hare, and runs away, while the others act 



party sally forth. The hare is furnished with a 
large bag of white paper cut into small squares, 
which he scatters on the ground as he goes. A 
provision is made that the hare shall not cross his 
path, nor return home until a certain time ; in ei- 
ther of which cases he is considered caught. The 
hounds also are bound to follow the track or " scent " 
implicitly, and not to make short-cuts if they see 
the hare. The hare then starts, and has about 




THE HARES. 



as hounds and pursue him to a specified goal. The 
proper management of the game, however, requires 
considerable skill. The first thing to be done is to 
choose a hare. The hare should not be the best 
runner, but should be daring, and at the same time 
prudent, or he may trespass into forbidden lands, 
and thereby cause trouble. A huntsman and 
whipper-in are then chosen. The huntsman should 
be the best player, and the whipper-in second best. 
Matters having been thus arranged, the whole 



seven minutes' grace, at the expiration of which 
time the huntsman blows a horn or whistle with 
which he is furnished and sets off, the hounds 
keeping nearly in Indian file, the whipper-in bring- 
ing up the rear. The huntsman is also sometimes 
furnished with a white flag, the whipper-in with a 
red one, the staves being pointed. (These flags 
can be improvised for the occasion by fastening 
white and colored pieces of cloths to sticks.) Off 
they go in the chase until the huntsman loses 



ii6 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



the scent. He immediately shouts " Lost ! " on 
which the whipper-in sticks his flag in the ground 
where the scent was last seen and the entire line 
walks or runs round it in a circle, within which 
they are tolerably sure to find the track. The 
huntsman in the meanwhile has stuck his flag in 
the ground, and examines the country to see in 



where the last track was seen, and wasted time in 
searching for it again. Moreover, they seem to en- 
courage the players wonderfully. Sometimes the 
chase extends fourteen or fifteen miles in length ; 
but before such an undertaking is commenced it 
is necessary to prepare by a series of shorter chases, 
which should, however, be given in an opposite 




THE HOUNDS. 



what direction the hare is likely to have gone. 
When the track is found, the player who discovers 
it shouts Tally ho ! the huntsman takes up his flag 
and ascertains whether it is really the track or not. 
If so, he blows his horn again, the hounds form in 
line between the two flags, and off they go again. 
It is incredible how useful the two flags are. Many 
a hare has been lost because the hounds forgot 



direction to the course fixed upon for the grand 
chase, as otherwise the tracks are apt to get mixed, 
and the hounds are thrown out. The hare should 
always carefully survey his intended course a day 
or two previously, and then he will avoid getting 
himself into quagmires or imprisoned in the bend 
of a river. A pocket compass is a most useful aux- 
iliary, and prevents all chance of losing the way. 




THE CHASE. 



ii8 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



PLAYGROUND GAMES. 



X 



SKITTLES. 

The modern game of skittles is played in a man- 
ner somewhat similar to bowling, but the number 
of pins is only four. These are very large, and are 
arranged on a square framework, so as to present 
one of the angles to the player. The bowl iised for 
playing this game is of the shape of a 
cheese, and is usually made of lignum vitae, 
as being very heavy and hard wood. The 
game requires more bodily strength than 
ten-pins, as the bowl must be thrown upon 
the skittles, and not rolled up to them. 

The best play is to throw the bowl with 
a round-handed swing of the arm, so as to 
strike the nearest skittle at the right of 
its upper third. The ball then springs to 
the second skittle, and from this generally 
twists to the third, while the fourth skittle 
is sent down by the roll of the one first struck. It 
is very difficult to make this throw successfully, and 
many players prefer driving down the first and third 
skittles with a straightforward shoot, and then 
making their second ball spring across from the sec- 
ond to the fourth. This latter stroke appears very 
difficult, but is soon learnt ; the great point being 
to throw the ball high, so that it may drop as per- 
pendicularly as possible on the left of the 
upper third of the second skittle. In the 
. long run, the constant repetition of this 
practice will over balance occasional brill- 
iancy of play. 

There are several ways of counting the 
game in vogue in different parts of Eng- 
land. The simplest is that of counting by 
" pins " in a given number of throws — 
three, six or nine — he who knocks down 
most being winner. Sometimes the game 
is counted by points — three throws each 
hand being allowed. If all the pins are knocked 
at first throw, it counts a "treble " or three points ; 
if in two throws, a " double " or two points ; if in 
three a " single" or one point. If a pin is left 
standing after the third throw it counts nothing. 
At the end of three hand the points are compared, 
the highest being thewmner. 



KNUR AND SPELL. 

A FAVORITE game in the north of England is one 
known as " knur and spell." It, undoubtedly, has 
a common origin with trap-ball, but greater skill is 
required to play it and proficiency in it can only 
be gained by a considerable amount of practice. 




IRON SPELL. 

The name is given it from the principal implements 
used in playing it : the " knur " or knor being a 
gnarled piece of round wood, and the spell an in- 
strument to " spill " or cast off the knur or ball. 
" Pommels " are the bats or sticks with which the 
ball is struck. 

In some places players content themselves with 
merely fixing the spell and then touching the 




FLAT SPELL AND KNUR. 

spring, which is immediately released by the weight- 
ed rack falling down. As the knur springs into 
the air, the player strikes it with the fiat side of 
the pommel, and drives it as far as he can across 
the field. But to play well requires something 
more than this. 
The first thing to be done is to fix upon a centre, 



PLAYGROUND GAMES. 



or some suitable spot of ground, and then the 
direction of the wind is observed ere the spells are 
fixed, for generally players play with the wind un- 
less it is agreed to the contrary. Every twenty 
yards from the centre is then marked by a stick 
known as a " bob," for each separate twenty yards 
is a unit in the score of the players, which is 
formed generally on so many bobs " up," or in other 
words so many score yards to so many " rises." 
Usually there are five rows of bobs. The spells are 



POMMEL. — SIDE VIEW. 

placed right and left of the centre, and the choice 
of position is decided by lot, but the spells must not 
be placed more than seven yards apart or less than 
three. An alteration of the wind does not inter- 
fere with the game, unless an agreement is made to 
that effect. Thirty rises each is the usual game, 
which is thus decided. 

Each player has five rises at a time, and counts 
one for every twenty yards his knur is cast after 
being struck by the pommel. If the knur, which 
is sometimes the case, splits in two, a new rise is 
allowed, and ten minutes of time to make the new 
knur playable. If the knur remains among the 
" bobs " so that its value is doubtful, a string is 
stretched from the side of the bob farthest from the 
spell, and if the knur does not clear the string, it 
only counts for the value of the " bobs " it lies 
amongst ; if it does clear the string, it counts one 
more. If a knur is struck out of the line of "bobs," 



POMMEL. — BACK VIEW. 

it mu^w be measured from the spell before the 
player has another rise. If he strikes three out of 
the line of bobs, he must turn his spell, and should 
he again drive the knur out of the line of bobs he 
must play again. About 200 yards is a fair average 
score, which is marked by ten bobs towards the 
total. 



it up in the air, and as it falls hits it "on the fly" 
to the outfield, and if it be caught by any fielder on 
the fly the batsman goes to the field and the fielder 
who caught the ball becomes the batsman. The 
batsman is out also if he sends the ball to the field- 
ers on the bound, or if he strikes at the ball three 
consecutive times without hitting it, in which case 
the fielder next in turn goes to the bat. Usually 
the latter receives the ball when thrown in from the 
field, and passes it to the batsman. Any number 
can take part in the game. 



FUNGO. 

FuNGO is a good practice game in batting, and in 
catching batted balls. It is played with a round 
bat and any small ordinary hard ball ; one player 
acting as the batsman, while all the others are field- 
ers. The batsman takes the ball in one hand, tosses 



HAND-BALL. 

Hand-ball is a modification of the old English 
game of " Fives." It can be played in a court reg- 
ularly arranged for the purpose or on any smooth 
piece of ground which is bounded by a high fence 
or a brick wall ; the side of a house will do very well 
for this. Four or five feet from the wall (and paral- 
lel to it) a line is drawn on the ground called the 
"ace line." In front of this {i.e., between it and 
the wall) stands one player, called the "server," 
and back of the line stands another, known as the 
" striker." No bat or other implement is used in 
the game except a small rubber ball. This the server 
bounds on the ground, and as it rises strikes it (with 
the palm of his hand) against the wall so that it will 
bound back to the striker over the line. If it does 
not do so, that is, if it falls to the ground (on bound- 
ing from the wall) in front of the line, the server 
must try again and continue trying until he succeeds 
in sending it from the wall fairly over the line. 
When it has crossed the line the striker must send 
it back against the wall, using only the palm of his 
hand in doing so. He can hit it either on the fly 
or on its first bound from the ground. If he fails 
thus to hit it, or in hitting it to send it against the 
wall, he loses his turn and must exchange places 
with the server. Every time the striker returns the 
ball so that it strikes the wall fairly without first 
having touched the ground he scores one "ace," 
and the player who first reaches a score of twenty- 
one aces wins the game. After the ball is once in 
play (that is, after the server has bounded it from 
the wall over the line) the striker serves himself and 
he continues to do so by batting the ball with his 
palm against the fence or wall until either he misses 
it (on the fly or first bound from the ground) or 
until the ball touches the ground in front of the 
line. Under no circumstances must he catch the 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



ball or take hold of it with his hand ; only the server 
can do that at the beginning of an innings. As 
many innings are played as are necessary to enable 
any one of the boys to make a score of twenty-one 
aces. The striker can play anyTvhere behind the 
line, but must never step over it. He naturally has 
to be very active and skilful to run up much of a 
score in a single innings, but he can do so if he 
" places " his ball accurately against the same spot 
on the wall every time, for in such a case he need 
move about very little, as the ball would always come 
back to him where he stands. A double game can 
be played by alternating the servers and strikers be- 
tween the two sides, and an odd number of boys 
can take part by arranging in advance the order 
in which each shall have a turn at striking and at 
serving. In the English game each point counted 
five instead of one, and this gave it its name. 



CAP-BALL. 

Cap-ball is the simplest game of ball known to 
the play-ground. It is played on a space of ground 
which affords room for running out of reach of a 
thrown ball. Selecting a ground near a wall, each 
boy playing in the game places his cap on the 
ground close to the wall, and in such a manner that 
the ball can be tossed into any cap readily. The 
ball used in the game should be a soft one — a rubber 
air ball being the best — as otherwise injuries may 
occur, as the ball is thrown hard at the players. A 
line being marked on the ground about fifteen feet 
from the wall, one of the players takes his station 
at it, and begins the game by throwing the ball 
into one of the caps ; the moment this is done all 
the boys run away, excepting the one into whose 
cap the ball is thrown, who immediately runs to 
take it out, and endeavors to strike one of the f Jgi- 
tives by throwing the ball at him ; if he can do so, 
the one struck has a small stone placed in his cap, 
and has to take his turn at pitching the ball. 
Should the thrower fail to hit one of the boys as 
they are running away, a stone is put into his cap, 
and he has to pitch the ball into the caps again. If 
a player fails to throw the ball into a cap, he also 
has a stone placed in his cap, but continues 
throwing until he succeeds. When a player gets 
three stones in his cap, he is out. When all the 
players but one have been struck out, he is consid- 
ered the winner, and the punishment of the losers 
then commences ; one of them standing near the 



wall bounces the ball with all his force so as to send 
it as far from the wall as he can, and next stands 
with his back to the wall, stretching out his right 
arm, and placing the back of his hand quite close 
to the wall, while the winner, standing where the 
ball fell, takes aim, and throws the ball at the said 
loser's hand three times ; each of the losers likewise 
receives the same punishment from him. 



HOCKEY (OR SHINNEY). 

Hockey is an old Eng- 
lish game, which may be 
played by any number of 
boys. Each player must 
provide himself with a 
stick having a curved or 
crooked head at its lower 
extremity. A large mead- 
ow or open common is re- 
quired for this game when 
the players are numerous. 
Two goals or bounds should 
be formed about five hun- 
dred yards apart (though a 
shorter distance will suffice), 
each goal being indicated by one or two small flags. 
Sides are chosen by two of the best players, who 
select their partners alternately. Chance decides 
which side is to have the first strike at the little 
wooden ball (a bung from a barrel answers the pur- 




STICKS. 




pose excellently), which is the object of contention. 
The ball is put down at about one third distance 
from the striker's goal, and the sides are arranged 
in lines opposite each other. When all are ready, 
the striker calls out " Play ! " and drives the ball 



PLAYGROUND GAMES. 



forward toward his adversaries' goal. Tlie aim of 
the players on one side is to strike the ball over 
their opponents' bounds, while those of the other 
party endeavor to prevent this by driving the ball 
in an opposite direction over the other goal. When 
the ball is driven over either of the goals the game 
is decided, and sides must be chosen afresh. This 
exciting game is called " shinty " in Scotland and 
" bandy " in many parts of England and Wales. 



HOLE-BALL. 

Hole-ball differs from cap-ball in there being as 
many holes dug in the ground near a wall as there 
are players, which holes are made use of instead of 
hats or caps. The holes are numbered, and each 
player is allotted to one of them by chance. The 
ball is bowled into the holes, not thrown. Should 
one of the runners be struck by the player into 
whose number the ball has been bowled, he may, if 
he can obtain the ball soon enough, strike another 
with it, and he in his turn may strike a third ; in 
this way five or six may be struck in succession, un- 
til a miss is made, when the one so missing loses a 
point and then becomes the bowler. Sometimes 
one player volunteers to take the ball from another, 
and endeavors to hit one who may be near him ; 
should he fail, however, he loses a point and must 
take the consequences. When a player has lost 
one point he is called a " fiver ; " when he has lost 
two, a " tenner ; " and when he has lost three, a 
"fifteener." A player stands out when he has lost 
four points. The losers are punished as in "cap- 
ball." 



TWO OLD CAT. 

Two old cat is a capital game for younger boys, 
and serves as an excellent training-school for base- 
ball, which it somewhat resembles, though in a 
much simpler form. Ten is the best number to play 
it, but a smaller number on a pinch can be made to 
answer. There are no sides, each in turn going to 
the bat, and all the others uniting for the time 
being against him. One acts as catcher, another 
as pitcher, a third as short-stop, three as basemen, 
and the remainder as outfielders. If there are not 
players enough to fill all these positions, the short- 
stop and three outfielders can be dispensed with. 
The pitcher is only allowed to pitch the ball to the 



bat, no kind of throw in the delivery of the ball 
being permitted ; and he acts as pitcher until the 
batsman is put out, when the catcher goes in to the 
bat, and the pitcher becomes the catcher, and each 
of the occupants of the other positions advances 
one position, the retiring batsman going to right 
field, or whatever is regarded as the lowest place. 
The batsman can be put out on a fly catch of a fair 
or a foul ball, and on a foul-bound catch, and also 
on three strikes. He can also be put out after hit- 
ting a fair ball on the bound, if the ball be held at 
first base before the batsman reaches it. Should he 
make his base after such hit, however, he is entitled 
to take the bat again, or he can resign it in favor 
of any player he chooses. Of course the game is 
played on a diamond field, roughly laid out so as to 
mark the several base positions. The ball and bat 
most commonly used are the regulation ones for 
base-ball. 




TRAP BALL. 

For trap ball a com- 
mon ball, a round bat, 
/Tfel and a " trap " are re- 
j.\,__ qyi].g£j_ The latter is 
a solid piece of wood 
shaped something 
like a shoe, and hav- 
ing a movable tongue or spoon. Before beginning a 
game, it is as well to fix the trap by sinking the heel 
in the ground. I nnings being tossed up for, the win- 
ner places the ball in the spoon of the trap, touches 
the tongue of the trap with his bat, and as the ball 
rises strikes it away as far as he possibly can. If he 
makes more than two unsuccessful attempts at 
striking the ball, or touches the tongue more than 
twice without being able to hit the ball, he is out 
and the next player takes his innings, which order 
of succession should be settled beforehand. If one 
of the fielders can catch the ball before it falls to 
the ground the striker loses his innings ; but if it is 
not caught, the fielder who stops it must bowl it 
from the spot where he picked it up, toward the 
trap ; if it touches the trap, the striker is out ; but if, 
on the contrary, it misses, the batsman counts one 
toward his game. It is usual to place two bound- 
aries at a given distance from the trap, between 
which it is necessary for the ball to fall when struck 
by the batsman, for if it falls outside of either he is 
out. As in fungo, there is no fixed number for the 
game, each in turn playing against all the others. 



122 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



BALLOON BALL (PALLONE). 

Balloon ball is an old Italian game, once 
very popular in England. It is played in courts 
somewhat like tennis courts, only with a much 
larger floor space. At Bologna, where there is a 
model court, the floor is a parallelogram three 
hundred feet long by sixty feet wide, bounded on 
one of its sides by a high wall and on the other 
and along the ends by galleries for spectators. 

There are three players to a side, the duty of the 
two " primi " or best players being to stand well 
back to return all the long and difficult balls, while 
the third is on the look-out for any ball that comes 
between him and the transverse line, or that is not 
likely to reach his companions. 

The ball used is five inches in diameter and is 
made of two coats of cowhide inflated with air. 
Its weight is twelve ounces. Each player is armed 
■with a bracciale or gauntlet of wood, covering 
the hand and extending nearly up to the elbow. 
The exterior of the gauntlet is thickly studded 
with pointed bosses, projecting an inch and a half. 
Across the inside is a transverse bar, which is 
grasped by the hand so as to render it manage- 
able by the wearer. Its weight is about four 
pounds and to wield it effectively is therefore no 
light task. ^ 

These gauntlets are used to beat the ball back- 
wards and forwards in the air from one side to 
the other. The object of the game is to keep 
the ball in constant flight, and whoever allows it to 
fall dead within his bounds loses. It may, however, 
be struck on the rebound. Whenever it falls be- 
yond the side boundaries of the court or is not 
struck over the central line, it counts against the 
party playing it. When it flies over the extreme 
limits of an opponent's court it is called a volata, 
and is reckoned the best stroke that can be made. 
At the service (further) end of each court is a spring 
board on which the principal player (the best bat- 
ter with the bracciale) stands. Near him is the pal- 
lonaio, whose business is to keep the balls well in- 
flated with air; and at a short distance off, facing 
him, stands the mandarino, who gives ball. As 
soon as the ball leaves the mandarino's hand, the 
chief batter runs forward to meet it and strikes it 
as far and as high as he can. His opponents return 
it if they are able to do so, and then the ball is 
batted backwards and forwards by the two sides, 
fifteen or twenty times, perhaps, before a point is 
scored. 

The game is necessarily a very fatiguing one 



and every player is obliged to carry, as a regular 
part of his equipment, a napkin to wipe from his 
face the perspiration which flows so profusely while 
he is engaged. In Italy players of the game frequent- 
ly make exhibition tours. Such parties usually 
consist of twelve individuals, of whom six play for 
three days and then rest for the next three days, 
the severity of the exercise rendering this course 
absolutely necessary. 

Notwithstanding its somewhat laborious charac- 
ter, the amusement is one that ought to be popu- 
lar with Americans if they should once adopt it, as 
it is a game whose principal requirements are that 
promptness and agility on which Americans so 
justly pride themselves. There is little or no dan- 
ger attending it, and the fatigue is a healthy fatigue, 
stimulating to the appetite and strengthening to 
the body. 



DOG-STICK AND SPLENT. 

A GAME is played in northern England somewhat 
like trap-ball, which is known as " dog-stick and 
splent." The splent is a tongue-shaped piece of 
wood, having one end tapering and the other 
rounded and slightly hollowed so as to hold the 
ball. The dog-stick is a rounded piece of wood 
very much like the bat used in base-ball. The ball 
is made of boxwood, loaded with shot to make it 
heavier and covered with a coating of stout leather. 

A boundary-line having been agreed upon, one 
player goes with his dog-stick to the splent and the 
rest place themselves, some at the boundary-line 
and others further off in the field to intercept the 
ball. The batter then gives a blow to the tapering 
end of the splent which throws the ball up into the 
air. As it rises he strikes it with his dog-stick so 
as to send it as far as he can into the field. Should 
he fail to strike it on two successive attempts, or if 
he should not send it over the boundary-line, or if 
it should be caught by one of the others, he loses 
his turn at batting and scores nothing. The play- 
ers are not obliged to catch the ball with their 
hands ; they may catch it in their caps, under their 
arms or in any way they choose. As the ball is 
very hard care needs to be exercised to avoid an 
injury in stopping it. 

The ball having passed the boundary uncaught, 
it is thrown back by any one of the fielders towards 
the splent. The striker may intercept it with his 
dog-stick as it is thus returned (before it touches 



PLAYGROUND GAMES. 



123 



the ground), either by knocking it towards the field 
again or simply by stopping it. He then, as it lies 
on the ground, guesses the number of lengths of 
his dog-stick it is distant from the splent. Should 
he overestimate the distance, he counts nothing 
and gives up his place at the splent. If his guess 
is either exactly right or under the mark, it is 
scored to his credit. Thus, should the exact dis- 
tance be three and a half lengths and he had esti- 
mated it at three, the number called by him is 
credited to him. But if on the other hand he had 
guessed four he would be out. In any case he may 
not add more than five to his score, so that when 
the ball is palpably beyond five lengths from the 
splent the umpire calls " five " and that number is 
added to the striker's score without measurement. 
Evidently it is to the interest of the striker in the 
first place to land the ball as far from the splent as 
possible, and in the second place in guessing its 
distance to give as high a number as he safely can 
without overshooting it. On the other hand his 
opponents strive in returning the ball to send it as 
near the splent as they can in order to keep down 
the batter's score. The order in which the players 
take their turn with the dog-stick should be settled 
by mutual agreement in advance. The winner of 
the game is he who scores the most in one, two or 
three rounds, as may be determined upon before 
the play begins. 



THE CROSS-BOW. 

A CROSS-BOW is in effect nothing more nor less 
than an ordinary bow set crosswise in a butt which 
is shaped like an ordinary gun-stock. 

The object of its first invention as a weapon of 
war was to obtain greater accuracy and, in some 
sort, greater propelling power with less muscular 
exertion. Some of the old cross-bows made of steel 
were very powerful, but they required a lever or 
winch to set them and were, take them all in all, so 
unwieldy that they never superseded the old long- 
bow, which, in English hands especially, proved its 
complete superiority to all rivals on many a hard- 
fought field. 

The Chinese even to this day make use of the 
cross-bow in their wars. They have invented a 
kind of repeater — one that once charged will shoot 
off several arrows in succession, the archer not hav- 
ing even to reset the bow each time, and only need- 
ing to work a lever backwards and forwards. 



As a plaything the cross-bow, while perhaps not 
quite the equal of the catapult, will afford plenty of 
amusement in shooting at a target. Pieces of to- 
bacco-pipes serve excellently as missiles. 



QUOITS. 

The game of quoits furnishes a healthy exercise 
and is an enjoyable and frequently exciting sport. 
The chief drawback to it is that it is apt to exercise 
one set of muscles too 
much when indulged in as 
a regular pastime. Other- 
wise it is a very desirable 
addition to the list of out- 
door games. The ordinary 
game for youths is played 
with small quoits (iron 
rings, one side of which is 
concave and the other con- 
vex), in form as shown in 
Fig. I. 

These are held in the 
hand of the player so that 
when thrown their edge 
may strike the ground first, 
the method of holding them being as shown in Figs. 
2 and 3. 

They are tossed so as to strike the ground, as 
shown in Fig. 4. When tossed so as to fall on the 
"hob," the quoit should be pitched so as to just 
pass over the " hob," as shown in Fig. 5. If tossed 
so as to strike the " hob," as shown in Fig. 6, the 
chances are that it will rebound back or to one 
side. 

When the sides have been chosen, the first player 
stands level with one of the hobs, and taking a step 
forward with his left foot delivers the quoit by a 
swinging movement of the arm from behind him to 
the front. The quoit should fall and remain with its 






FIG. I. 



FIG. 2. 



convex side uppermost, either imbedded in the earth 
or clay, or else lying flat with the concave side on 
the ground. If it rolls along the ground and then 



124 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



stops, it counts from the place where it finally rests, 
unless the cause of its rolling was a collision with 
some other quoit already delivered, or unless, after 
having been properly thrown, it is knocked out by 
another afterward played. The proper rule is that 
each player should play his two quoits in succession, 
and then be followed by an adversary; but in a 
party of four it is usual for each party to have only 





FIG. 3. 



FIG. 4. 



one quoit. When all the quoits are thrown the 
score is taken by measuring the distance from the 
hob to the nearest part of the nearest quoit, and the 
side which has thrown best scores one or two, ac- 
cording as his one or two quoits are better than any 
one thrown by the other side. But every " ringer " 
or quoit which falls over the hob and remains with 
the hob inclosed within its ring counts two. 





FIG. 5. 



FIG. 6. 



The distance between the two hobs is eighteen 
yards for large-sized quoits and twenty-one for the 
small size. The hobs (short iron pointed stakes) are 
driven into the clay circle so as to stand out of the 
ground at an angle of forty-five degrees toward each 
other, and they must not project out of the ground 
more than two and a half inches. In the regular 
match-game rules for prizes " ringers " do not 
count any more than do the quoits nearest the hob. 



LAWN BILLIARDS. 

The game of lawn billiards is a favorite one in 
many places, and has the great advantage that it can 
be played in a comparatively limited space. Indeed 
a large lawn is unsuitable for the game, and if the 
ground be of too great dimensions it will be better 
to enclose a circular space. 

The materials required are very simple. They 
comprise only eight or ten balls of different colors, 



a stick or cue with which to propel the balls, and a 
revolving ring through which the balls are to pass. 
The balls should be made of some hard and heavy 
wood and be about a foot in circumference. Croquet 
balls answer the purpose very well. The ring is 
usually made of iron — though brass would perhaps 
be better — and has a shank or neck. When it is to 
be used, a large wooden peg is driven into the 
ground, with the top a little below the surface, 
and into it a hole is bored, large enough to receive 
the shank of the ring and to let it revolve freely. 
The cue is made of two parts, namely, a wooden 
handle and a metal tip of rather a peculiar shape. 
It is ring-shaped and is fixed to the handle at an 
angle. This formation enables the ball to be played 
better than if the cue and tip were in a line. Some- 
times each player has a cue, but as a general rule 
one cue only is required, and is handed round to the 
players in succession. 

The objects of the game are simple and the rules 
scarcely less so. Each player endeavors to pass his 
ball through the ring, and every time he does so he 
scores one point. If his ball rolls through the ring 
after striking another ball, he adds two to his score. 
The ball must not be pushed through the ring 
with the cue touching it, neither may it be thrown 
through. After making a successful stroke, the 
player does not go on with the game, as in croquet, 
but gives way to the next player. 

In this game there is more play than at first ap- 
pears to be the case. If, for example, a player finds 
the hoop turned edgewise to him, he can either 
place his own ball so as to obstruct the next stroke 
of the enemy, or, by dexterous play at the ring, can 
turn it edgewise to the enemy next in succession. 
Sometimes he will strike a ball belonging to his 
own party so as to put it into position, or will 
strike away the ball of an enemy who seems likely 
to make a successful stroke. 

A really good player will often contrive to pass 
the ring even though it be turned almost edgewise to 
him. If the ring be turned in the least to one side or 
the other, he will play at it with a peculiar push of his 
cue, and strike it a little on one side. If this is 
properly done and with moderate force, the ring 
spins round and catches the ball in its progress. 
The effect of this sudden shock is that the ball vi- 
brates backwards and forwards for a moment and 
finally settles on the opposite side of the hoop. 

Half the amusement of this game consists in hav- 
ing a ring only just large enough to let the balls 
pass through, and so neatly poised as to revolve 
with a touch. The best plan for securing this latter 



PLAYGROUND GAMES. 



125 



point is to have a metal socket let into the wooden 
peg. If so, care must be taken that the socket be 
brass if the ring is iron, and vice versa. Both shank 
and socket must be kept well oiled. 



RING-TOSS. 

Ring-toss is a naval game, and forms a pleasant 
pastime for the summer lawn or for the parlor in 
the winter time. It is played with a target-post and 
a number of light rings or small 
hooks, ranging from five to ten 
inches in diameter. The game 
is to toss the rings so as to fall 
on the target-post. The smaller 
the rings the higher the count. 

For the large rings one point 
is scored ; for the next size 
smaller two points, and for the 
smallest size three points; fifty- 
points being a full game. The 
distance on a lawn which the 
player stands from the target-post is twenty-five 
feet. In the parlor it is fifteen feet. 




THE BOOMERANG. 

The boomerang is an Australian weapon, and, 
like the sling-bow and in fact nearly all weapons, 
had its origin in the chase and war. At first sight 
it is an unpromising-looking weapon enough, being 
merely a curved piece of flat wood of no very great 
size or weight, and about as insignificant-looking 
an object as could well be supposed. But in the 
hands of the Australian black this simple piece of 
flat wood can be made to perform the most marvel- 
lous feats. It rushes through the air like a " thing of 
life ; " at will it can be made to skim the ground 
like a swallow, or soar into the air like a hawk ; to 
strike a distant enemy, or to return in a wide grace- 
ful curve till it drops harmlessly against his own 
feet. 

Against this strange weapon no trunk of tree or 
huge mass of rock affords shelter ; the boomerang 
rushing through the air, past and beyond the con- 
cealed enemy, comes whirling back again with but 
little abated force and smites him from the rear. 
With spear and boomerang the native Australian 



must indeed be a dangerous foe, and one not to be 
despised even by the white man with his still more 
deadly rifle and revolver. 

Boys should not expect to make anything more 
than a plaything out of this interesting weapon ; 
they can neither afford the time nor get the teach- 
ing necessary for a thorough mastery of it. To the 
Australian aborigine the skilful use of the boom- 
erang forms a great part of the business of his life, 
and is, indeed, one of the conditions on which he 
lives ; but to the white man it can only be one out 
of many aids to relaxation, and he therefore cannot 
any more hope to acquire great command over this 
extraordinary missile — perhaps the most difficult to 
wield successfully that the ingenuity of man has 
ever produced — than he can hope to rival the Jap- 
anese jugglers in their wondrous performances with 
tops and paper butterflies. 

Should any readers of this volume become own- 
ers of a boomerang, they must be very careful at 
first in experimenting with it, for they will find that 
it will have a tendency to fly off from its course in 
the most unforeseen manner and make its way into 
all sorts of unexpected places, generally being ex- 
ceedingly perverse in going exactly where it is least 
wanted to go. A large open field to practise in, 
with not more than one or two companions, will be 
found the best for safety. 

In the act of throwing, the boomerang is grasped 
firmly by the end, which is slightly smoothed off for 
the hand, and, as it leaves the hand, is made to gy- 
rate or revolve on its centre by a quick turn of the 
wrist ; it is thrown, of course, edgewise, with the 
concave side foremost and the flat side downwards. 



THROWING THE JAVELIN. 

Throwing the javelin is a very interesting 
amusement, and gives strength to the arm and ex- 
actness to the eye. In playing it a square target must 
be procured, made of thick wood, about four feet in 
diameter, and on which should be marked concen- 
tric circles, similar to those on a target in archery. 
This should be well supported behind by two stout 
back-pieces, resting in the ground, so as to prevent 
the target from being easily overturned. The circles 
may be several in number. The centre should be 
black, and about six inches in diameter, and count 
ten ; the second circle should be red, and count flve ; 
and the third should be light blue, and count three. 



126 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



The other parts of the target to count as may be 
agreed. The javeHns should consist of poles of ash 
or fir, about an inch and a half in diameter, and 
should be five feet six inches in length. They should 
have a spike in one end, which should be surrounded 
with a rim of iron; the spike should be about two 
inches long, thick and strong, so as to enable it to 
become fixed in the target without splitting it. The 
game may be played by any number of boys, and is 
commenced as follows : 

One player takes a javelin in his right hand, and 
walking to a distance from the target, previously 
agreed upon by the players, he poises his javelin, by 
holding it in the hollow of his hand, between the ball 
of the thumb and the fleshy part at the side, and 
his elbow is at the same time bent, and his arm ele- 
vated so that his hand is a little above his ear, the 
javelin being at the same time nicely balanced with 
the small fingers, touching it so as to d irect its course. 
It is then launched forward at the target, and, if prop- 
erly poised, directed and thrown, will go to it in a 
direct line. The point at which it strikes the tar- 
get is then marked, and then the other players fol- 
low in the same way for twelve times in succession, 
the person who scores the most marks being the 
victor. 

The javelin will fly better and straighter if a ro- 
tary movement is communicated to it by a slight 
pull of the little finger as it leaves the hand. When 
some skill has been obtained in darting, blunt jave- 
lins with padded ends should be procured, and the 
players should accustom themselves to avoid, parry 
or catch a javelin thrown at them. When they can do 
so with certainty they may storm a fort. The best 
fort is a hedge with gaps. The players divide into 
two parties, one defending and the other attacking. 
Each player should be furnished with three javelins 
at least, well padded and nicely balanced. The art 
of catching and returning a javelin is exceedingly 
useful in this same. 



LES GRACES. 

The game of les graces derives its name from the 
graceful attitudes into which it throws the body if 
properly played. Unfortunately, when badly played, 
it is about as ungraceful a proceeding as can be 
imagined. 

The materials for the amusement consist simply 
of a couple of slender sticks for each player and 
two or more hoops of different sizes. The players 
stand at some distance from each other, and the 



object of the game is to throw the hoops back- 
wards and forwards, catching and throwing them 
by means of the sticks. 

To throw the hoop properly it should be hung 
on the sticks and the sticks then crossed to pre- 
vent it from falling off. Hold the sticks, with their 
points downwards, on the left side of the body, the 
left hand grasping one stick firmly, while the right 
hand holds the other loosely between the finger and 
thumb. Now raise the arms, point the left-hand 
stick in the direction which the hoop is meant to 
take and with the right-hand stick throw the hoop, 
gliding at the same time the right-hand stick over 
the other. 

These movements should be performed as one 
without any pause between them ; and if they are 
properly done, the hoop revolves rapidly so as to 
keep it steady as it flies through the air. Unless 
this be done, it wabbles, or even turns over and 
over, in either of which cases the player to whom it 
is thrown can scarcely have a chance of catching it. 

The hoop should be thrown tolerably high and 
ought to be sent with such accuracy that, if it were 
not stopped, it would fall on the head of the second 
player. 

Catching the hoop ought to be done with both 
sticks slightly crossed, unless it be flung much to 
the right or left, when, of course, a single stick 
must be employed. Sometimes an unskilful player 
flings the hoop so that it presents its edge to the 
catcher. Even in this case an expert player will 
catch it by giving the lower edge a little tap with 
one stick, the effect of which will be to make the 
hoop fall over the stick. 

The beginner is particularly warned against 
crossing the sticks horizontally in front of his face, 
sticking out his elbows on a level with his ears and 
throwing the hoop by flinging both arms apart. In 
this mode of throwing there is neither ease, grace 
nor certainty. , A properly thrown hoop ought to 
look quite steady as it passes through the air and to 
be thrown so accurately that there is no difficulty 
in catching it. 

With every good set of les graces implements 
there should be two hoops of a foot in diameter and 
two of seven inches. The test of good play is to 
exchange the hoops, throwing them so that the 
small hoop passes through the large one. This 
feat looks rather formidable, but every good player 
can perform it if he has a steady partner whom he 
can trust. When the hoops are thus crossed the 
larger hoop should be thrown first, so that aim may 
be taken with the smaller one. 



PLAYGROUND GAMES. 



127 



BATTLEDORE AND SHUTTLE- 
COCK. 

Battledore and shuttlecock is a game suitable 
for the playground, the lawn or the parlor, but it is 
best played on a lawn. The materials for the game 
can be obtained at a sporting-goods store; but a 
common battledore can be readily made with a 
hickory stick and a piece of hoop, and a shuttlecock 
with a cork and a few short feathers. The form 
of the battledore and shuttlecock is as follows : 



v^i^j - ^jt.1, j^-. jjijtiia 



BATTLEDORE. 





SHUTTLECOCK. 



The game is played by two players, each having 
a battledore, and each bats the shuttlecock from 
one to the other ; the player failing to return it when 
it is batted to him within possible reach losing a 
point in the game. A game consists of twenty 
points, and the best two out of three games gains 
the match. 



THE SLING. 

The sling was much used as a weapon in ancient 
warfare, and was held in such esteem that it long 
kept its place even with the bow. As time passed 
on, however, it fell into gradual disuse ; and, long 
before the time that the bow gave way to fire-arms, 
the sling had come to be regarded as little more 
than a toy. 

It must not be supposed that it was failure in ac- 
curacy that brought the sling into disfavor as a 
military weapon. It is not worth any one's while 
nowadays to devote the necessary time and labor 
to acquire proficiency in its use ; though, even at 
the present time, there would be no difficulty in 
finding many boys who would be by no means de- 
sirable antagonists at fifty yards or so. But in past 
times, where a man's life and living depended on 
his skill in slinging — when as a child he had to earn 
his meals before eating them — then the full capabili- 
ties of the sling were brought out, and even the bow 
hardly over-matched it in absolute accuracy. 

Its real defects as a military weapon were the 
want of penetrative power in the missile, especially 
against armor, and, more particularly, the incon- 
venient extent of space each slinger required to 
work in, and the impossibility of discharging the 



missiles from anywhere but the front rank. It was 
the bow's superiority in these respects, rather than 
its greater accuracy, that drove the sling out of the 
field. 

The simplest form of sling is an oval piece of 
leather with a slit in the middle and a stout string 
fastened at each end ; one of these strings is looped, 
the other plain. In using the sling, a smooth stone 
is put into the leather, the slit holding it in its 
place ; the slinger inserts his middle finger in the 
loop of the one string, grasping it at the same time 
firmly in his hand, and holding the other string se- 
curely, and yet so that he can easily let it slip, whirls- 
the whole swiftly round his head two or three times 
and then, at the right moment, lets fly the loose 
string. The pocket of the sling immediately opens 
and the stone is thrown out with extraordinary 
swiftness. 

If a more solid and reliable sling is required, it 
should be made entirely of leather, thongs and all, 
every detail being carefully adjusted to the missile 
it is intended to use. The missile, too, if anything 
like accuracy is aimed at, should be most carefully 
constructed. Nothing great can be done with 
stones; they are too uncertain in weight and shape. 
Clay balls, made as much as possible of equal weight 
and size, and baked in the ashes, are very service- 
able ; but the very best things of all are good-sized 
leaden bullets. They travel farther and faster and 
are more reliable than any other procurable missile. 
They have only one drawback — their expense. The 
slinger might keep a stock of both — clay for ordinary 
occasions, lead for special service ; but, as far as 
possible, he should avoid variety of ammunition if 
he wishes to attain any high degree of skill. 

Armed with a good sling and a store of am- 
munition, a boy, if his taste lies that way, may do 
considerably more execution as a sportsman than 
many an older person with pistol or rifle. And his 
sling has this advantage over fire-arms, that it can- 
not possibly do any hurt to him, or, with ordinary 
care, to any one else. It never goes off by accident 
or when he " did not know it was loaded." 



THE CLEFT-STICK. 

Another variation of the sling is the cleft-stick. 
It is made by taking a piece of tough wood (ash is 
perhaps the best), about thirty inches in length and 
three-quarters of an inch in thickness, tapering, if 
possible, a little towards one end ; and splitting 



128 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



with a sharp knife the smaller end down to a depth 
of, say, four inches. Care should be taken to do 
this exactly in the middle. Then whip it round 
strongly with waxed thread, beginning about two 
and a half inches from the end and working down- 
wards to a point a little below where the split ends. 
The object of thus binding it is to prevent the split 
from extending further. 

Now take a smooth flat pebble, force it well into 
the cleft or slit, hold the stick by the butt-end and 
throw. The stone will fly out as if from a leathern 
sling ; in fact the only difference between the two 
is that one is rigid and the other flexible. At first 
one needs to be careful how he throws ; he should 
be sure that no one is within hitting distance, for 
until the right knack is acquired the stone is apt to 
■fly about in a very independent manner. It would 
be as well also to avoid the neighborhood of glass 
when experimenting for the first time with this 
rather " offensive " weapon. 

The stone is made to leave the stick at the right 
moment by a kind of jerk, which will soon come of 
itself to a boy of any natural aptitude but which 
cannot well be described on paper. 

In places where clay is tolerably abundant, a sim- 
ilar effect may be produced by kneading lumps of 
clay round the top of a pliant stick and throwing 
them in the same manner as the stone is hurled 
from a cleft-stick. These clay lumps when they 
strike against anything — a tree or a post — flatten 
out and adhere to it with great tenacity. 

Sometimes boys get up a battle of clay lumps ; 
but the two parties should always stand at a con- 
siderable distance from each other, forty or fifty 
yards at the least. Even at that distance a blow 
from a clay lump in the face will often leave a deep 
red mark as a memento of its visit, and not even 
the clothes will afford perfect protection from the 
sting of these soft missiles. 



THE PEA-SHOOTER AND 
PUTTY-BLOWER. 

In America the putty-blower and in England the 
pea-shooter have long been favorites with boys and 
constitute weapons which furnish capital sport with- 
out often doing much damage. The principle of 
■each instrument is the same : a tube made of tin 
or other metal through which the missile, a lump 
of putty or a pea, is blown against the object aimed 
at. The diameter of the shooter should be about 



the size of that of an average pea, as, if it were 
much larger, the pea would not be propelled with 
sufficient force to go any great distance or to strike 
the object as smartly as desired. The blower can 
be whatever size is preferable as the softness of the 
putty permits of the pellets being made to fit the 
tube. Either implement can be quickly made by 
a tinsmith. 

Pea-shooters have one great advantage over put- 
ty-blowers ; and that is that their owners can fill 
their mouths with missiles and blow off one after 
the other, or even a number at a time, as fast as 
they please ; whereas putty-blowers need to be re- 
loaded after every shot, it not being very feasible to 
fill the mouth with putty in advance of beginning 
operations. 

There are numberless ways of getting fun out of 
either blowers or shooters. One of the best is to 
organize the boys into two parties of about equal 
strength and have a regular pitched battle. For 
this purpose pease make better missiles than putty, 
as they can be shot much more rapidly. In using 
them, however, more execution will generally be 
accomplished by a steady fire of single pease than 
by a furious discharge of volleys. The former 
method allows opportunity for a careful aim and for 
searching out the weak spots of the enemy's de- 
fence, and attacking him there with unrelenting 
perseverance, which cannot be done in the latter 
case. Volleying is useful only when at close quarters 
with your opponents. Then at such range that you 
cannot miss, a blast of pease is often effective in 
driving them back. 



THE CATAPULT. 

The catapult is a variation of the ordinary sling, 
but it throws a missile with a far higher degree of 
accuracy and with much greater force than the sim- 
pler implement. Indeed, it may be fairly said to 
rank next to fire-arms in its destructive capabilities, 
and it possesses this advantage over the gun and 
pistol that it is much less conspicuous and is abso- 
lutely noiseless, as well as being perfectly harmless 
to its possessor. 

Catapults can be purchased at most toy-stores, 
but quite as efficient ones can be made at home with 
very little trouble. Get a forked stick, shaped like 
the letter Y, about six or seven inches in length, 
the prongs about three inches apart. To the ex- 
tremity of each of these prongs lash securely a strip 



PLAYGROUND GAMES. 



129 



of india-rubber band or spring about six inches 
long and attach the loose ends of these springs to 
an oval piece of soft leather, one and a half inches 
long by an inch in width, whipping them carefully 
and strongly for a distance of nearly an inch. This 
oval forms a kind of pocket in which to place a 
missile. 

The most useful ammunition is No. i shot ; clay 
marbles do very well, and even gravel-stones at a 
pinch may be made to do good service ; but the 
first-named are preferable in every way — for range, 
accuracy, penetration and portability. They can 
be fired in volleys, moreover, when occasion re- 
quires, which the others cannot, on account of their 
size. 

In using the catapult, the lower end of the forked 
stick is firmly held in the left hand and the oval 
piece of leather (containing the missile) is drawn 
back as far as possible with the right hand and 
then sharply let go. A little practice will show 
that it is possible to secure a most excellent aim in 
doing this, so as to send the missile straight at the 
desired object. 



PRISONER'S BASE. 

Prisoner's base is one of the best of the running 
class of games, and it is played as follows: Sides 
of from six to ten players are chosen from among 
the swiftest runners of the crowd. Two of the 
best players choose sides, after which the " home " 
and " prison " bases are marked out. These are 
laid out by drawing a line ten or a dozen yards from 
a wall, and dividing the inclosed space into two 
equal portions, each of which ought to be large 
enough to contain all the players on one side. At 
some distance (from a hundred to two hundred 
feet) in front of these bases, two more spaces must 
be marked out for prisons, the prison of one party 
being opposite the home base of the other. 

The game is commenced by a player from one 
side called the "leader" running out of his base 
toward the prisons ; when he has got about half 
way he calls out " chase," at which signal one of the 
opposite party rushes from his base and endeavors 
to catch him ; a partner of the first player next 
dashes out to capture the second, and so on, both 
sides sending out as many of their partners as they 
please, to touch or take their opponents. Each 
player strives to overtake and touch any one of the 
opposite side who quitted his base before he did, as 
he must not touch any one who started after him. 



although they may, if they can, touch him before he 
gets back to his own base ; but if a player has taken 
a prisoner he cannot be touched when he makes his 
way back to his base again. It is the rule that a 
player may touch only one of his adversaries every 
time he leaves his base, and every prisoner must be 
taken to the prison of the party opposed to him, 
where he remains until one of his partners can 
manage to touch him. It is to be borne in mind 
that he who comes to rescue the captive must have 
started from his base after the other has been taken, 
and the prisoner and his liberator are not allowed 
to touch any one, or to be touched on their return 
home. The victors are those who can contrive to 
make all their opponents prisoners. The game may 
also be decided by one player taking possession of 
the base belonging to his opponents when they are 
all out ; it is therefore prudent to leave some one in 
charge of each base. 



TIP-CAT. 

Tip-cat is played with a light stick and a piece 
of wood called a " cat " shaped as in the appended 
cut. When the cat is laid upon the ground, the 
player with his stick tips it at one end by a smart 
stroke, which causes it to rise in the air, high 
enough for him to strike it as it falls, in the same 
manner as he would a ball. The cat should not 
exceed five inches in length or an inch and a half in 
diameter, and should be made of light wood. The 
game is played by two boys who toss for innings. 
Before playing, a small ring is marked out on 




the ground, and at about twelve feet distance a 
boundary line is drawn. The first player stands 
close to the ring, and is provided with a stick about 
two feet long ; his opponent stands at the bounds 
and pitches the cat at the ring. Should the cat 
alight in the ring the first player is out ; should it 
fall on the line he is allowed one tip, but should it 
fall anywhere outside the ring he is entitled to take 
three tips. If the first player be not pitched out, 
he now proceeds to " tip the cat," that is, he taps 
one end of it with his stick, and as it jumps in the 
air he endeavors to strike it as far as possible. 
When he has taken his tips he roughly estimates 



I30 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



the distance he has struck the cat, and offers his op- 
ponent a certain number of jumps. If the out-play- 
er, starting from the point where the cat lies, can 
reach the ring in the right number of jumps, he puts 
the first player out, but if he cannot accomplish the 
task, his opponent counts the number as so many 
towards the game, which may be fifty or a hundred 
according to agreement. If the out-player can 
catch the cat as it is flying he puts his opponent 
out. The in-player having taken his tips, may also 
guess at the probable number of lengths of his stick 
between the cat and the ring and calls out the num- 
ber ; if, on measurement, by means of the stick, the 
distance is found to exceed the number called, he 
is out ; if, on the contrary, it is within, he scores the 
number toward his game. 



LEAP-FROG. 

Leap-frog will be best understood by supposing 
that eight boys are playing at it. Seven of them 
stand in a row, about eighteen feet apart, with 
their sides to the leapers, hands on their knees, 
body doubled, and head bent down, as shown in 
Fig. I. The eighth player then takes a short run, 
and placing his hands on the back of the first play- 
er, leaps over him, then over the second and in like 





FIG. I. 



FIG. 2. 



manner over all the other players, one after the 
other, and when he has done so, he places himself 
down in the line, in the proper position, and at a 
proper distance from the last player; the first over 
whom he jumped rises immediately he has passed, 
and follows him over the second, third, etc., who all 
rise in succession, and leap in their turns; and 
after they have successively jumped over the last 
players, they place themselves down in the line, as 
before described ; the game continues during pleas- 
ure. Some players stand with their backs to the 



leapers, as in Fig. 2, instead of their sides ; the 
mode is quite optional, although in some places it 
is usual to compel those who can jump over the 
head, to do so. 



FOLLOW MY LEADER. 

A BOLD, active boy' should be selected as leader, 
and all the other players must range themselves in 
a line behind him ; he commences the game by 
jumping, running, hopping or getting over any ob- 
stacle that may present itself, and then continues 
on his course, scrambling over everything, and vary- 
ing his actions as much as possible ; all his follow- 
ers must, according to the rules of the game, dO' 
exactly as he does. If he jumps over a ditch, they 
must clear it ; if over a gate, they must do that also ; 
and in everything follow or imitate him as closely 
as possible. If any one of them fails in performing 
the tasks, he must take his place behind all the 
rest, until some other player makes a blunder, and 
in his turn goes last. The game is continued dur- 
ing the leader's pleasure. 



HOP SCOTCH. 

The essentials of the game of hop scotch are a 
piece of level ground or an even pavement on which 
to mark out the lines of the field of play, which is 
formed as in the following diagram. 

When the field is marked out, the players who 
are to compete each try to toss their " tile " — a piece 
of flat stone or wood — into the half circle _ 

at the top of the field. The one who 
succeeds leads off in the game, the others 
following in turn. The player who can 
manage to pitch into the half circle 
takes the first innings, and if two or 
more pitch in, they are "ties," and must 
pitch again. The winner begins, stand- 
ing at " home," by throwing his piece of 
tile into the division marked i ; he then 
hops into the space, and kicks the tile 
out to " home ; " he next throws the tile into 2, 
hops into I, then into 2, and kicks it out as before; 
he repeats this through the several numbers till 
he comes to 8, which is called a resting-bed ; he is 
here permitted, after hopping through the previous 
seven spaces, to put his feet in the beds marked 









«■:_] 


10 




^H 


9 1 


> 


a 

X 

5 


y 
< 


4 1 


i. 


- 


« 


^ \ 



HOME. 




LEAP FROG. 



132 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



6 and 7, and rest himself ; but he must of course 
resume hopping before he kicks the tile out ; he 
then passes through the beds 9, 10, 11, as before 
directed ; 12 is another resting-bed, in which he 
may put down both feet, and when he comes to 
the half circle he must kick the tile out with such 
force as to send it through all the other beds at 
one kick ; it is not necessary to send the tile out 
so forcibly from any of the other beds, the play- 
ers being allowed to use as many kicks as they 
please. The other rules of the game are the follow- 
ing: If the player throws the tile into the wrong 
number, or if it rests on one of the chalked lines, 
either when he has endeavored to pitch it into a 
bed, or when he is kicking it out, he loses his in- 
nings ; he loses his innings also if he places both 
feet down in any other than a resting-bed, or if he, 
hopping out, puts his foot on a line, or kicks the 
tile over the side lines. 



DUCK AND DRAKE. 

Duck and drake requires at least three players, but 
its interest is considerably increased when there are 
six or eight. A large stone called " the base," hav- 
ing a tolerably flat top, is placed on the ground, and 
"home" is marked off about twelve feet from it. 
Each player being provided with a stone called a 
duck about double the size of a base-ball, the game 
is commenced by pitching for " drake " — that is, by 
all standing at the home and throwing their stones 
or ducks in succession at the base. The player 
whose duck falls or rolls farthest from it becomes 
" drake " and must place his stone on the top of 
the base. The other players are allowed to take 
up their ducks and go to the home unmolested 
while " drake " is placing his stone down ; they then 
throw their ducks, one after the other, at it, and en- 
deavor to knock it off the base. Drake must re- 
place his stone whenever it is knocked off, and the 
throwers must pick up their ducks and endeavor to 
run home while he is so engaged. Should the 
duck remain on after four or five have thrown at it, 
the stones must rest where they fell, until some play- 
er more skilful than the others knocks off the duck, 
and so gives the throwers a chance of getting home. 
If drake can touch one of the throwers as he is run- 
ning home with his duck in his hand, the one so 
touched becomes drake. When the duck is knocked 
off by any player, it must be instantly replaced, as 
drake cannot touch any one while it is off the base. 



When a thrower's duck falls and lies before the 
base drake may touch him if he can, even before 
he picks up his duck. When drake succeeds in 
touching a thrower, he must run to the base and 
quickly remove his duck ; if he has time, he should 
tap the base twice with his duck, and call out 
" double duck ! " as he may then walk home without 
fear of being touched by the boy whom he has just 
made drake. Should all the players have thrown 
without being able to knock the duck off, it is fre- 
quently proposed by some of them to take either a 
"heeler," a "sling" or a" jump" toward home, in 
order that they may have a chance of reaching it. 
Drake may refuse or assent to these proposals at 
his option. The " heeler " is performed by the 
player kicking his duck backward toward home ; 
the "sling" by placing the duck on the middle of 
the right foot, and slinging it as far in the direc- 
tion of home as possible; and the "jump" by 
placing the duck between the feet, and holding it in 
that manner while a jump is taken, the jumper let- 
ting the stone go as he alights, so that it may roll 
forward. If the duck is so far from home that one 
sling, jump or heeler will not suffice, two or more 
of each may be taken, provided of course that drake 
allows them. If the player does not get his duck 
home in the number of slings, jumps or heelers 
agreed on, he becomes drake. Duck and drake is 
one of the liveliest of games, but we must caution 
boys against playing roughly or carelessly at it, as 
they may through negligence do one another much 
harm, on account of the weight of the stones and 
the force with which they must be thrown. 



TAG. 



Any number of boys or girls can play tag. One 
of the players volunteers to be " tag " or else he is 
chosen to fill that office by lot. Tag then endeav- 
ors to touch one of the others as they run in all di- 
rections to avoid him. When a player is touched 
he becomes " tag," and in his turn strives to touch 
one of the others. When " tag " succeeds in touch- 
ing another, he cries " no tag," which signifies that 
the player so touched must not touch the player 
who touched him, until he has chased and touched 
somebody else. 

The game is sometime varied by requiring " tag " 
to chase one player until another runs across his 
path, between him and the boy pursued, upon which 
tag must immediately run after the one who crossed. 



PLAYGROUND GAMES. 



133 



until some other crossing between them must in his 
turn be followed ; in this way the game continues 
until one is touched, who takes the office of tag 
and gives chase to the others. This is called " cross- 
tag." 

Another variation is granting safety to those 
pursued when they touch either wood or iron, the 
rule being that " tag " must touch them as they 
run from one piece of wood or iron to another. 



I SPY THE WOLF. 

In the game of " I spy the wolf " the players are 
divided into two equal parties, one of which is given 
a certain length of time to hide themselves, the oth- 
er party remaining meanwhile at home. As soon as 
this time has expired or as soon as one of the out- 
players cries " whoop ! " the seekers leave home to 
look for them. When one of the hiders is dis- 
covered, the finder shouts out, " I spy the wolf," 
and he and his companions rush back home, to 
escape being touched. If the hiders catch a certain 
number of the seekers before they can return home, 
they hide again ; if not the seekers take their turn. 



HIDE AND SEEK, OR WHOOP. 

In hide and seek one player takes his station 
at a spot called the " home," while the others go to 
seek out various hiding-places ; when all are ready, 
one of them — the most distant from home — calls 
out " Whoop ! " on which the player at " home " 
goes in search of the hiders, and endeavors to 
touch one of them as they run back to " home ; " 
if he can do so, the one caught takes his place at 
the " home," while he joins the out-players. But if 
all reach home safely without being touched then 
the same player has to seek for the rest when they 
hide again. 



JINGLE-RING. 

Jingle-ring is a lively out-door variation of blind- 
man's buff. It is played to best advantage on a 
grass-plot encircled with a roped boundary. The 
players rarely exceed ten. All of these, except one 



of the most active, who is the " jingler," have their 
eyes blindfolded with handkerchiefs. The jing- 
ler holds a small bell in his hand, which he is 
obliged to keep ringing incessantly so long as the 
play continues, which is commonly about twenty 
minutes. The business of the jingler is to elude the 
pursuit of his blindfolded companions, who follow 
him by the sound of the bell, in all directions, and 
sometimes oblige him to exert his utmost abilities 
to effect his escape, which must be done within the 
boundaries of the rope, for the laws of the sport 
forbid him to pass beyond it. If he be caught in 
the time allotted for the continuance of the game, 
the person who caught him wins the match ; if, on 
the contrary, they are not able to take him he is 
proclaimed the winner. 



BOUND HANDS. 

Bound hands is a spirited game, and is peculiar- 
ly adapted for wintry weather. It is played by two 
parties, one — the inners — being called "Jacks," and 
the other — the outers — " Johnnies." A line should 
be made on the ground at about four feet from a 
wall, and running parallel with it ; within this 
bound one of the players takes his station with his 
hands clasped together, and, after calling out, 
" Johnnies, look out," he jumps out, runs after and 
strives to overtake and touch one of the others, 
without dividing his hands ; if he is successful in 
his attempt, they both return to the bounds, where 
they join hands, and after repeating the warning 
rush out again, and each endeavors to touch an op- 
ponent ; if they can achieve this, they all return and 
join hands as before. When they sally forth again, 
the outside players only try to touch, and of course 
every one they touch returns to " bounds " with 
them, and joins in the line. Whenever an out- 
player is touched, the Jacks let go their hands and 
scamper back to " bounds " as fast as their legs will 
carry them, as the out-players can demand to be 
carried home by the Jacks if they can catch them 
when the line is broken. The out-players are al- 
lowed to attack the line in the rear, in order to com- 
pel the poor widdies to let go their hands. The 
game may be kept up until all the out-players are 
caught. Sometimes the one who commences the 
game is allowed his liberty as soon as he has caught 
four. As a matter of course, no out-player can be 
touched when the Ime is broken. 



134 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



BULL IN THE RING. 

Bull in the ring can be played by any number 
of boys, and is commenced by their joining hands 
and forming a ring, having enclosed some boy in 
the middle, who is the bull. It is the bull's part to 
make a rush, break through the ring, and escape, 
and the part of the boys who form the ring to hold 
their hands so fast together that he cannot break 
their hold. Before making a rush the bull must cry 
" boo " to give warning, so that the boys may grasp 
their hands more tightly. The whole ring gener- 
ally replies to the bull's challenge by crying " boo " 
all together. When the bull breaks through the ring 
he is pursued until captured, and the boy who seizes 
him first is " bull " when they return. A good 
" bull " will lead them a pretty dance, clearing 
hedges and ditches, and if he gets back and touches 
some mark agreed upon, near to where he broke 
through the ring, he is " bull " again. 



SLING THE MONKEY. 

Sling the monkey is a favorite game on ship- 
Isoard, but it can be played just as well in the coun- 
try wherever there are trees. One player, who is 
chosen by lot, takes the part of the monkey and is 
fastened to a tolerably high branch of a tree by a 
strong cord knotted in a bowline loop and passed 
round his waist. The other players then baste the 
monkey with knotted handkercief s, and he, similar- 




ly armed, endeavors to retaliate. If he succeeds in 
striking one of them, he is at once released and the 
other takes his place as monkey. He must make 
haste in doing it, or he may be basted until he is 
fairly in the loop. With boys that do not mind a 
little buffeting this game becomes exceedingly live- 
ly : an active monkey cannot safely be approached 
without considerable difficulty and of course gives 
much more life to the game. 



The cord should be just long enough to enable 
the monkey to reach the ground comfortably un- 
der the branch. Half the fun of the game consists 
in ^oXuslXy slinging the monkey, one of whose most 
effective ruses is to throw himself forward on the 
rope, pretend to start off in one direction and then 
come back with an unexpected swing in the other. 



BASTE THE BEAR. 

Basting the bear is a very similar amusement to 
sling the monkey. The players should toss up for 
the first bear, who kneels on the ground within a 
circle marked out for the purpose ; each bear may 
select his own master, whose office it is to hold him 
by a rope, and use his utmost efforts to touch one 




of the other players, as they try to thrash the bear 
with their handkerchiefs knotted and twisted very 
tightly. If the bear's master can touch one of the 
assailants without dragging the bear out of the ring, 
or letting go the rope, the boy touched becomes 
bear, selects his keeper as before mentioned, and 
the sport is continued. 



DROPPING THE HANDKER- 
CHIEF. 

For the game of " dropping the handkerchief " 
a tolerably large ring should be formed by several 
boys standing in a circle and joining hands ; anoth- 
er boy, who stands out, when all are ready walks 
round outside the ring, drops a handkerchief behind 
one of the players, and immediately runs off; he is 
instantly followed by the one behind whom he 
dropped the handkerchief, and who must track him 
in all his windings in and out, under the arms of 
the boys in the ring, who elevate them for the pur- 



PLAYGROUND GAMES. 



ns 



pose. Should the pursuer be able to touch the 
pursued before the latter passes the spot where he 
dropped the handkerchief, the former takes the 
handkerchief in his turn, and the latter joins hands 
in the circle. If the pursued party escapes being 
touched, however, he again takes the handkerchief 
and drops it behind another boy. 



DRAWING THE OVEN. 

In the game of drawing the oven several players 
seat themselves on the ground, in a line, one behind 
the other, and clasp each other round the waist; 
two players then take hold of the foremost sitter by 




both his hands, as represented above, and endeavor 
to detach him from the line by pulling away vigor- 
ously. When they have succeeded in doing this, 
they take hold of the second sitter in the same 
manner, and so continue " drawing the oven," until 
they have drawn all the players from the ground. 



FLY THE GARTER. 

The game of " fly the garter " is played by first 
chalking or marking a line, or, as it is usually 
termed, " a garter," on the ground ; on this line one 
of the players must place himself and bend down as 
in leap-frog, while the other players in rotation 
leap over him, the last one as he flies over calling 
out " Foot it." If he should fail in giving this 
notice, he is out, and must take the other boy's 
place at the garter. The boy, immediately the word 
is given, rises, and places his right heel close to the 
middle of the left foot ; he next moves the left 
forwards and places that heel close up to the toes 
of his right foot and bends down as before. This 
movement is called a " step," and is repeated three 
times. The other players ' should fly from the gar- 



ter each time a step is made and the last player must 
invariably call out "Foot it" as he leaps over. 
After making the three " steps," the player giving 
the back takes a short run, and, from the spot 
where he made his last step to, jumps as far forwards 
as he possibly can, and bends down again ; the 
others jump from the garter and then fly over. 
Should any of the players be unable to jump easily 
over the one giving the back, but rather slide down 
upon, or ride on. him, the player so failing must 
take the other's place at the garter, and the game 
be begun again ; if, also, through the impetus ac- 
quired in taking the jump from the garter, a play- 
er should happen to place his hands on the back 
of the player bending down, and then withdraw 
them in order to take the spring over, he is out, 
and must take his turn at the garter. It is usual, 
in some places, for the boy giving the back to take 
a hop, step and a jump after he has footed it three 
times, the other players doing the same, and then 
flying over. 



SPANISH FLY. 

Spanish fly is capable of being varied to any ex- 
tent by an ingenious boy, but it is generally played 
in the following way : One boy, selected by chance, 
sets a back, as in " fly the garter," and another is 
chosen leader. The game is commenced by the lead- 
er leaping over the one who gives the back, and the 
other players follow in succession ; the leader then 
leaps back, and the others follow ; then they all go 
over in a cross direction, and return, making, in 
all, four different ways. The leader then takes his 
cap in both hands, and leaves it on the boy's back 
while he is " overing," and his followers perform 
the same trick ; in returning, the last man takes the 
lead, and removes his cap without disturbing the 
others, and each boy does the same ; this trick is 
repeated in a cross direction. The next trick is 
throwing up the cap just before overing, and catch- 
ing it before it falls ; the next, reversing the cap on 
the head, and so balancing it while overing, without 
ever touching it with the hands ; both tricks must 
be performed while leaping the four different ways. 
The leader, with his cap still balanced, now overs, 
and allows his cap to drop on the opposite side ; 
the others do likewise, but they must be careful 
not to let their caps touch the others, nor to let 
their feet touch any of the caps in alighting ; the 
leader now stoops down, picks up his cap with his 



136 



OUT- DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



teeth and throws it over his head and the boy's 
back ; he then leaps after his cap, but avoids touch- 
ing it with his feet. The other players follow him 
as before. The next trick is " knuckling " — ^that 
is to say, overing with the hands clenched ; the next, 
" slapping," which is performed by placing one 
hand on the boy's back, and hitting him with the 
other, while overing ; the last, " spurring," or touch- 
ing him up with the heel. All these tricks. must be 
performed in the four different ways. 



JUMP, LITTLE NAG-TAIL ! 



n 



COCK-FIGHTING. 

Cock-fighting is a very amusing game for 
younger boys. Two players are made to sit on the 
ground, draw their legs up and clasp their hands 
together over their shins. A stout stick is then 
passed through under their knees and over their 
arms at the bend of the elbows, and there they sit 
trussed like a couple of fowls. 

Thus prepared, the two combatants are placed 
face to face, their toes touching, and are left to 
fight it out. This they do by striving to knock 
each other down, each seeking to overbalance the 
other without losing his own equilibrium. 

Two falls out of three decide the game ; if both 
fall it is no " round " and does not count. As the 
player may not unclasp his hands even when down, 
he is helpless and must be helped up by his friends. 

This game had a wonderful run of popularity 
once at one of the English naval ports. A foreign 
man-of-war had put in to refit after a severe gale ; 
her officers, of course, received the hospitality of the 
local authorities, and one evening after mess, sky- 
larking being in vogue, cock-fighting was intro- 
duced. This so took the fancy of the foreigners, 
that next day, when some of their hosts of the 
preceding evening went to call upon them, they 
found them earnestly engaged, several pairs of them, 
in this their new pastime, and were called upon 
with pride to see what proficiency they had attained 
in a short time. 

For the rest of their stay the game still main- 
tained its popularity amongst them, and no doubt 
they carried it with them to their own home. One 
authority declares that the last thing seen of the 
vessel when far out at sea, was the captain cock- 
fighting with the first lieutenant on the quarter- 
deck and the parson with the doctor ; but perhaps 
this is an exaggeration. 



WINDING THE CLOCK. 

To wind the clock all the players join hands, and 
extend their arms to their full extent. One of the 
outside players remains stationary, and the others 
run round him as fast as they can, which proceed- 
ing is called " winding the clock." In this manner 
the straight line becomes a confused spiral, and all 
the players get huddled together in a most laugh- 
able manner. 



In the game of " jump, little nag-tail ! " 
eight players on each side is the best number. The 
two leaders should toss up for choice of partners, 
and after selecting them, toss again for innings. 
The loser must then place himself quite upright, 
with his face to a wall, against which he rests his 
hands ; and one of his partners should next stoop 
down, and put his head against his leader's back ; 
another partner also bends, and places his head 
against the back of the second player, and the rest 
of the partners must take their places in the same 
manner, one behind the other. When thus arranged, 
they are called " nags." One of the winning party 
next takes a run and, placing his hands on the back 
of the last player or " nag," endeavors to spring on 
to the back of the first, or at least to clear as many 
" nags " as he possibly can, in order to allow room 
for those following him to leap on the backs of the 
other "nags," which they should do in succession, 
until they are all fairly astride. If any of the " nags " 
sink under the weight, or in trying to support them- 
selves touch the ground either with their hands or 
knees, or if the riders can keep their seats without 
touching the ground, whilst their leader counts 
twenty, or repeats the words, " Jump, little nag-tail, 
one, two, three ! " three times, concluding with " oflf, 
off, off ! " the riders resume their innings, and begin 
again ; on the contrary, should there not be suffi- 
cient space for all to leap on, or they are unable to 
keep their seats on the back of the " nags," they 
lose their innings, and become "nags" in their 
turn. The " nags " must, while in the line, hold 
either by the trousers of the player before them, or 
else lean their hands on their knees, or cross their 
arms on their breasts. Each rider must call out 
"Warning" before he leaps on the back of one of 
the " nags." 



PLAYGROUND GAMES. 



137 




Kites are so called from having originally been 
made in the shape of birds of that name. Though 
they are not used exactly in any game (that is, in 
any regular contest, as balls and marbles are), they 
are the means of a very common amusement in 
their season — ^the spring months — and will then be 
found all over the world. Probably they are no- 
where else as popular as in China, for kite-flying 
has been called the national pastime of that coun- 
try, and many of the fancy shapes now to be seen 
here have come to us from literally the opposite 
side of the globe. 

As every boy knows, a kite is made to fly in the 
air, and in order that it should do so it must first 
have a body (which is the kite proper) to fly, next a 
tail to steady it and lastly a string which causes it 
to fly and at the same time prevents it from flying 
away. Now, a kite can either be bought at a store 
or can be made at home, and one which its owner 
makes for himself will be valued much more than 
any which is bought. And making them is not 
very difficult : all that is required is a few light sticks 
of wood, some string, paper (tissue is the best) and 




kite ; the second, made with three sticks, is a house 
kite ; and the third, made with one straight stick 
and one bowed stick, a bow kite. The sticks must 
be first tied tightly together, and a string is then 
put around the outside, in notches cut for it, to 
paste the paper on to. The tail is fastened to the 
bottom and can be made of either paper or cloth. 
Care has to be taken that the tail is neither so 
heavy as to drag the kite down, nor, on the other 
hand, that it is so light as to fail in its object of 
steadying the kite and keeping it upright against 
the wind. The string to hold and sail the kite with 
should be strong (as if it breaks the kite is lost) and 
should be fastened to the kite about one-third the 
distance below the top. It is best to fasten it with 
a " belly-band ;" that is, to tie a cord of about double 
the width of the kite to the two extreme side joints 
and then attach the flying string to the middle of 
this cord. The string when not let out to fly the 
kite should be kept wound around a stick. 




paste made of flour and water. Three of the simplest 
kind are shown in the above illustrations : the 
first, made by crossing two sticks, is called a cross 



The shapes can be varied at will and a boy with a 
little ingenuity can devise some very novel effects — 
figures of men, fishes, etc. — and by painting them 
can get up very striking results. Only glaring 
colors should be used and the designs should be 
painted as coarsely as possible, to permit of their 
being seen when high up in the air. A few of 
these fancy shapes are suggested in the above \,j^.ey- 
following illustrations. 

Unless there be a good breeze stirring the kite- 
flyer need not expect to have much sport, as noth- 
ing can be more vexatious than attempting to fly a 
kite when there is not sufficient wind for the pur- 
pose. To raise the kite in the first instance, the 
flyer will require the aid of another boy. The own- 
er of the kite having unwound a considerable length 
of string, turns his face toward the wind and pre- 
pares for a run, while his assistant holds the kite by 
its lower extremity as high as he can from the 
ground. At a given signal the assistant lets the 
kite go, and if all circumstances be favorable it will 
soar upward with great rapidity. With a well-con- 



138 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



structed kite in a good breeze, the flyer need not 
trouble himself to run very fast nor very far, as his 
kite will soon find its balance and float quite stead- 
ily on the wind. The kite-flyer should be careful 
not to let out string too fast. When a kite pitches 





it is a sign that it is built lop-sided, or that its tail 
is not long enough. 

Some boys amuse themselves by sending mes- 
sengers up to their kites when they have let out all 
their string. A messenger is formed of a piece of 
paper three or four inches square, in the centre of 




which a hole is made. The end of the string is 
passed through the hole, and the wind quickly 
drives the messenger up to the kite. The kite-flyer 
should be careful not to send up too many messen- 
gers, lest they weigh down the kite. 




There are various games in which marbles are 
used and there are many different kinds of marbles. 
Those made of agate are prized the most, and in- 
deed their pre-eminence is fully justified by the ex- 
quisitely beautiful veining of some of them, and the 
rich and harmonious coloring of others. Alleys a.r& 
made of white marble striped and clouded with red, 
and when this color predominates, they are called 
blood-alleys. These marbles rank next in value to 
the agates. Taws or stoneys, of brown marble, 
streaked with darker tones of the same color, form 
the third class ; French taws of stained or colored 
marble the next ; the gaudy Dutch marbles of glazed 
clay, painted either yellow or green, and ornament- 
ed with stripes of a dark color, constitute class the 
fifth, while the unpretending yellowish clay mar- 
bles, or commoneys, are the cheapest of all. In many 
games with marbles, considerable skill is required. 
To shoot, or fillip a taw with precision is no easy 
task ; this operation is performed by placing the 
taw upon the inside of the forefinger and propelling 
it with the nail of the thumb. While a player is 
shooting his marble, his opponent can compel him 
to knuckle-down — in other words, to touch the 
ground with the middle joint of his forefinger ; this 
is to prevent unfair play. 

Bounce Eye, 

This game requires several players, who each put 
down a marble, and then form them into a small 
ring ; one player begins by holding a marble in his 
hand, close to his eye, and letting it fall upon the 
ring ; the marbles forced out of the ring by the con- 
cussion become his property, and the other players 
then try their skill in turn ; the players are termed 
"bouncers." 

Three Holes. 

Make three holes in the ground, four feet apart 
from each other, and draw a line, about six feet 
from the first hole. The first player begins, stand- 
ing at the line, by shooting into the first hole ; if he 
misses, the second player tries his fortune, each 
shooting alternately as his opponent fails. A play- 
er may, after shooting his marble into a hole, aim 
at his opponent's taw, if it is near, so as to strike 



PLAYGROUND GAMES. 



139 



it away as far as he can ; and if he can do so, he 
continues shooting into the holes as before. The 
player who gets first into the last hole is the win- 
ner ; and it is to be done in the following manner : 
First hole — second hole — third hole — second, first — ■ 
second, third. The loser then placing his knuckles 
at the first hole, the winner shoots as near the hole 
as possible, and fires three times at the said loser's 
knuckles, from the place where his marble rested. 

Ring- Taijo. 

Draw a circle, and let each player place as many 
marbles in it as may be agreed on, and then make 



that if one player's taw is struck by another's, 
the player whose taw is struck is out, and must give 
up to the striker all the marbles he may have pre- 
viously shot out of the ring. 

Increase Pound. 

This is very similar to ring-taw, the variations 
being, that if before a marble is shot out of the 
ring, one player's taw is struck by another's (except- 
ing his partner's), or, if his shot remains within the 
ring, he puts a shot in the pound, continues in the 
game and shoots again from the offing before any of 
his companions. Should his taw be struck after one 










RING-TAW. 



a line at a little distance off, from which the play- 
ers are, by turns, to shoot at the ring ; this line is 
called the offing. If a player shoots a marble out 
of the ring, he is entitled to shoot again before any 
of his companions. When the players have fired 
once, they shoot from the place where their mar- 
bles rested at the last fire, and not from the offing. 
If a marble is driven out of the ring by a player, it is 
won ; but if his taw remains in the circle, he is out, 
and must place a marble in it ; and if he has knocked 
any marbles out of the ring before his taw gets in, 
Ve must place them in likewise. It is a rule, also, 



or more marbles have been driven out of the ring, 
if he has taken any shots himself, he gives them 
to the player who struck him, puts a taw in the 
ring and shoots from the ofl5ng, as before. If, 
however, he has not won any marbles during the 
game, before his taw is struck, he is " killed " and 
put out of the game ; he is likewise out if, after 
any shots have been struck out, his taw gets within 
the pound ; if it remains on the line, it is nothing. 
He then puts the marbles (if he has won any) into 
the circle, adding one to them for the taw struck, 
and shoots again from the offing. In case he can- 



I40 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



not gain any shots after his taw gets " fat," as re- 
maining in the ring is termed, he is Icilled, and is out 
for the rest of the game. When only one marble 
remains in the ring, the taw may continue inside 
it without being " fat." Each player seldom puts 
more than one marble in the ring at the beginning 
of a game. 

Arch Board., or Nine Holes. 

Cut out of a piece of wood a rude resemblance 
of a bridge, and make nine small arches in it and 
number them thus : 



The bowlers must endeavor, after giving the 
bridge-keeper a marble every time they shoot, to 
fire through the holes ; if any marble touches the 
sides of the arches, it becomes the property of the 
bridge-keeper ; and, on the contrary, if it passes 
through one of the arches, the owner of the bridge 
gives the number of marbles marked over the 
arch to the bowler. In some parts of the country 
this game is played with iron bullets instead of 
marbles. 

Picking the Plums. 

A line is drawn on the ground, along which each 
player places a certain number of marbles. At this 
line the players shoot their taws in turns from a 
given point. The marbles knocked off the line 
become the property of the striker and the game 
continues until no marbles remain. The marbles 
should be placed as close together as possible with- 
out actually touching. 

Pyramid. 

Let a player draw a circle on the ground, and 
then make a pyramid, either by placing three mar- 
bles triangularly, and one on top of them, or else 
with six first, then four, and then one ; the post of 
keeper of the pyramid ought to be taken by every 
boy in succession. Before a player can shoot at 
this pyramid, he must gi,ve a marble to the keeper ; 
and should he strike the pyramid with his taw, 
all the marbles driven by the concussion beyond 
the circle belong to him. 

Handers. 

For this game a hole, two or three inches in di- 
ameter, must be made in the ground, near a wall, if 



possible. When two boys play they first decide up- 
on the number of marbles to be staked by each at 
every throw, and then proceed to pitch the marbles 
into the hole, alternately, from a line at about three 
yards' distance. Let the number staked by each be 
four ; the thrower will then have eight marbles, 
which he must pitch at the hole all together. Should 
an even number of marbles fall in the hole, the 
thrower wins them all ; but should he be so unfort- 
unate as to hole an odd number, they become the 
property of his opponent. The players now stake 
again, and continue the game until they are tired of 
speculation. When there are more than two play- 
ers the game must be sligKtly altered. Having ar- 
ranged the turns, the first player pitches the staked 
marbles at the hole, and keeps all that fall in ; the 
next player takes up those that remain, and throws 
them in the same manner, keeping those he pitches 
in ; the others follow in turn. When all the mar- 
bles are holed, the player whose turn it is to pitch 
becomes the first player of the next game. 

Odd or Even. 

One player extends his closed hand containing 
some marbles, and asks his opponent to guess 
whether their number is odd or even. Should he 
guess wrong, he forfeits a marble, and his question- 
er tries him with another lot ; but should he guess 
right, the first player must pay him a marble, and 
take a turn at guessing. 



Eg, 



o-s in the Bush. 



This game is a great improvement upon odd or 
even. Dick asks Tom to guess the number of 
"eggs in the bush " — that is, the number of marbles 
in his closed hand. If Tom can guess the right 
number he takes all ; but if he is out in his reckon- 
ing he pays Dick as many marbles as will make up 
or leave the exact number. Suppose Dick has six 
marbles in his hand; now, if Tom should guess 
four or eight, he would have to forfeit two mar- 
bles to Dick, because four is two less and eight is 
two more than the exact number. The players 
hold the " eggs in the bush " alternately. 

The Conqueror. 

In this game, one boy places a marble down on 
a smooth spot where it is either hard earth or 
gravel ; turf, through its being too soft, and pave- 
ment much too hard, are both unsuitable ; another 



PLAYGROUND GAMES. 



141 



boy then throws his marble, with all his force, at 
that of the first player, endeavoring in this manner 
to split it; if he is unable to do so, the first player 
takes up, and in his turn throws his taw at that of 
the second ; and so on alternately, each striving to 
split his antagonist's taw. Good strong stone mar- 
bles are the best in this game, and when a marble 
has been victorious in many such games, it is only 
used against such as in like manner have proved 
themselves worthy of the honor of contending for 
the superiority. Suppose two boys are playing at 
this game, and that each of them have been victors 
in many former encounters with other opponents ; 
if one of the taws break, the owner of it must hand 
over to the conqueror all the marbles he may have 
won with that taw, and one also for the taw so 
broken. 




Humming-tops cannot easily be made, but can 
very easily be purchased by those who are so lucky 
as to have the money. They are made hollow, hav- 
ing at their crown a peg, round which is wound 
a string ; this being pulled through a kind of fork, 
gives motion to the top, 
and sets it spinnings 
the fork and the string 
being left in the spin- 





|^= ner's hand. In spinning 
=r the top, care should be 
taken to wind the string 
firmly and evenly on the 
peg ; and when it is pulled out neither too much 
nor too little force should be used, and a firm and 
steady hand should be employed, while the top 
should be held in a perpendicular position. The 
string should be drawn with a steadily increasing 
force or the top will not hum properly. 
Peg-tops can be purchased at all toy-shops ; those 



I 




which have tolerably long pegs are the best for 
" peg in the ring," as they describe a much larger 
circle when spinning, and are more likely to swerve 
out of the ring than those 
with short pegs, which are 
generally " sleepers " — that 
is, apt to keep in one spot 
while spinning ; the latter, 
however, are exceedingly 
well adapted for " chip- 
stone." In winding the cord 
on the top, it is the best plan 
to pass it two or three times 
round the peg before you 
commence winding it on the 
body of the top. Tops made of boxwood are the 
hardest and best, but they are the most expensive. 
Tops are also made of deal, elm, yew-tree, lignum- 
vitEe and other material. 

The Spanish peg-top is made of mahogany ; it is 
shaped somewhat like a pear, and, instead of a sharp 
iron peg, it has a small rounded knob at the end. 
As it spins for a much longer time than the common 
English peg-top, and does not require to be thrown 
with any degree of force in order to set it up, it is 
extremely well adapted for playing on flooring or 
pavement. 

Of the games in which tops can be used that 
of whip-top is a capital sport when played by two 
persons. It is played by first whirling the top into 
motion by turning it sharply with both hands and 
beginning to whip it as soon as it acquires a toler- 
ably strong rotary motion, being careful not to 
strike too hard at the first. A pliable eel-skin 
makes a far better whip for this sport than one 
made of leather, but it must not be kept either very 
dry or very wet, as in the former case it splits and 
cracks when used, and in the latter becomes heavy 
and unwieldy with moisture. The number of games 
with whip-tops is exceedingly limited, being only 
two — races, in which the boy who can whip his top 
to the greatest distance in the shortest time is the 
winner; and encounters, in which the players whip 
the tops against each other till one of them falls. 

Another game is chip-stone, also played by two 
boys, in the following manner. Two lines, about 
six feet apart, are marked upon the ground, which 
ought to be smooth and hard. Some small stones 
are then procured and placed midway between the 
lines ; they should not be larger than a small bean 
and the black and polished ones are the most sought 
after. The tops are set up spinning on the ground, 
and the players, each being provided with a small 



142 



OUT-DOOR SPORTS FOR BOYS. 



wooden spoon, dexterously introduce them under 
the pegs of the spinning-tops, and then, with the 
top still spinning in the spoon, throw the point of 
the peg against the stone, so as to chip it out of 
bounds; he who does this the soonest being the 
victor. While the top continues to spin, he may 
take it up with the spoon as many times as he can, 
and when it spins out he must again wind it up, pur- 
suing the same plan till he " chips out." In winding 
up the top do not wet the end of the line too much, 
and take care to lap it closely and evenly within the 
grooves. In throwing the top from you, the line 



to peg at it as quickly as they can. If none of them 
hit it while it is spinning, and if it rolls out of the 
ring, the owner is allowed to take it up, and having- 
wound it, to peg at the others which may be still 
spinning in the circle. Should any of the tops, when 
they cease spinning, fall within the ring, they are 
considered dead, and are placed in the centre of the 
circle for the others to peg at. The player who suc- 
ceeds in striking any of the tops out of the circle 
claims those so struck out. In some places each 
player may ransom his top with a marble. 
Sleeping-tops are exposed to much danger in the 




PEG-IN-THE-RING. 



must be pulled in with a peculiar jerk of the hand, 
which practice alone can give. The string button 
should be held close in the hand, between the last 
two fingers of the hand. There is what is called an 
"underhand " way of spinning top — i.e., by holding 
its peg downwards, throwing it in a straight line for- 
ward, and withdrawing the string. 

Peg-in-the-ring may be played by any number of 
boys. A ring about a yard in diameter is first 
marked on the ground, and another ring surround- 
ing the first, and at a yard's distance from it, is also 
marked. The players must stand on this ring, and 
from it throw their tops. One player begins by 
throwing his top spinning into the ring, and while 
it is there spinning the other players are at liberty 



play, for they offer a fair mark to the " pegger," 
and often get split, when the peg is taken by the 
splitter as his trophy. Long-pegged tops are the 
best for the game, for they lie more upon their sides 
after their fall and, before the spinning entirely 
ceases, are the more likely to spin out of the ring. 
There is a way of making the top spring directly it 
has touched the ground. Only long-pegged tops 
will execute this feat. It is done by drawing the 
hand sharply towards the body just as the top leaves 
the string. When the manoeuvre is well executed, 
the top will drive any opponent that it strikes ea- 
tirely out of the ring, while it does not remain with- 
in the dangerous circle itself for more than a few 
seconds. 



PLAYGROUND GAMES. 



M3 



HOOPS. 

Trundling the hoop is a pastime of uncertain 
■origin, but it has long contributed to the health and 
amusement of the young people of America and 
Great Britain. Girls generally prefer wooden hoops, 
but iron ones are most in favor with boys. These 
instead of being driven by a stick are usually pro- 
pelled aud guided by a slender iron hook with a 
rather long handle. 

The proper and legitimate hoop, however, should 
be made of a stout ashen lath, round on the outside 
and flat on the inside,and should be well fastened at 
its point of juncture ; it should be high enough to 
reach midway between the owner's elbow and shoul- 
der, so that he may not have to stoop while striking 
it. The stick should be about sixteen inches long 
and made of tough ash, and in bowling the hoop 
the bowler should strike it vigorously in the centre 
and in a direction horizontal with the ground. 

Wooden hoops, also, give due exercise to the arm ; 
and there is some tact required in knowing exactly 
where to strike a hoop, so as to propel it with the 
greatest force. 

This cannot well be done with iron hoops, and 
forms one of the objections to them. Moreover, 
boys always complain that they soon lose their 
round form and are awkward to bowl. Still, there is 
something cheering in the ringing sound of an iron 
hoop, as it rushes along under the pressure of the 
curved iron rod that takes the place of the hoop- 
stick. I 

The games, properly so called, that can be played 
with the hoop are very few, and not generally known. 
Among them is one called " encounters," in which 
two boys start at different ends of the playground 
with their hoops, and meeting in the middle, each 
endeavors to knock down the hoop of his antago- 
nist, while his own remains upright. 

There is no small skill required in this game, for 
it is not always easy to make the hoops touch each 
other at all. Then a light hoop has little chance 
against a heavy one, unless it can strike it sideways, 
for if it were struck directly in front it would be 
certainly upset. But a ready hand at recovering a 
falling or tottering hoop wins many a game that 
appears to be hopelessly lost. 

Another hoop-game is called " posting." In this 
bases, called posting-stations, are formed at regular 
distances, in a large circle or ellipse, and at each base 
a player is stationed. Every player, except the hooj>- 
driver, has charge of a base. Let us suppose that 
there are seven players — A, B, C, D, E, F and G, and 



that the latter holds the hoop : the other six play- 
ers having taken possession of their stations, G now 
starts from the station belonging to F, and drives 
the hoop towards A, who waits, with hoop-stick in 
hand, ready to relieve G of his charge. G stops at 
the posting station, while A trundles the hoop to 
B, who takes charge of it, and delivers it to C. C 
trundles the hoop to D ; D transfers it to E ; E deliv- 
ers it to F ; and F conveys it in safety to the first 
player, G. In this way the game continues, until 
all the players have worked round the circle five or 
six times. It is considered very disgraceful to 
touch the hoop with the hand, or to allow it to 
fall after it has been started on its journey. The 
game is rendered much more lively by increasing 
the number of players, so that two or three hoop- 
drivers follow each other from base to base. 

" Tournament " is a game very similar to " en- 
counters." Two boys drive their hoops one against 
the other, and he whose hoop falls in the encounter 
is conquered. With eight players this game may 
be rendered very exciting. Four of the players 
stand in a row, about six feet apart, and, at a 
considerable distance, the other four take their 
stand, facing them. At a given signal each player 
dashes towards his opponent, and strives to over- 
turn his hoop. The four victors now pair off, and 
charge two against two. The conquerors then urge 
their hoops one against the other, and he who suc- 
ceeds in overturning the hoop of his antagonist wins 
the game. 

Five or six boys can play at "turnpike," though 
only one hoop is required. Chance decides which 
of the players shall first take the hoop. The oth- 
er players become turnpike-keepers. Each turn- 
pike is formed of two bricks or stones, placed on 
the ground, and separated by about three fingers' 
breadths. These turnpikes are fixed at regular dis- 
tances, and their number is regulated by the number 
of keepers. When all is ready, the first player starts 
his hoop, and endeavors to drive it through all the 
turnpikes ; should he succeed in this, he turns the 
hoop, drives it back again, and retains it until it 
touches one of the turnpikes, the keeper of which 
now becomes hoop-driver. When a player touches 
the hoop with his hand, or allows it to fall, he must 
deliver it up to the nearest turnpike-keeper. Each 
keeper must stand on that side of his turnpike 
which is towards the right hand of the hoop-driver, 
and it therefore follows that he must alter his po- 
sition when the hoop-driver returns. Should a 
keeper stand on his wrong side, the driver need not 
send the hoop through his turnpike. 



I 



